Self Published Author | Category

Editing

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The Universal Pitfall

by AC de Fombelle
Bowker | Mon Dec 4, 2017

We all are disappointed when we miss an objective, but did we really do what was needed to reach it?

Working towards success is a bit like riding a bike. First, you need to get on the bike, preferably a good one. Actually, first, you’ll need to make sure your bike is ready to roll, adjust the saddle and lights, check the brakes, chain, and tires. Then, you get on the bike.

You’ll also need to pedal, and not too slow, otherwise you’ll just stay in the same spot and fall/fail miserably. You will then put your bike into the right gear depending on the difficulty. Get the wrong gear and you’ll overtire yourself for no reason; either using way too much energy on an easy road or struggling on steep paths. Finally, you’ll need to keep in mind where you are trying to go otherwise, all this effort will be for nothing. You’ll end up going in circles, backwards or in a totally useless direction.

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What if They Hate My Book?

by Penny C. Sansevieri
Bowker | Tue Oct 3, 2017

Everyone has a few fears before they publish their book and a big one is fear of what happens next. When I was first published, some 17 years ago now, I recall having nightmares that people hated my first book so much that they were chasing me down the street, throwing copies at me. Seriously. Even now, after 16 books, I still have concerns that each book will be hated. I know I’m not the only one, and I’m sure this fear has meant that a lot of great books never get published.

When authors ask me, “What if they hate my book?” my inevitable answer is “They might. But they might love it, too.” Candidly, there isn’t much you can do to get past the fear except to publish your book anyway. And even if you have written the best book on the planet, someone somewhere will dislike it. It may be surprising to you now, but you may even welcome constructive criticism since it can help you improve in the long run.

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Top editing tips and tools to get your book published

by Kelly Marone
Bowker | Tue Dec 22, 2015

Writers have an immortal feeling when their first books are published and the ambrosial effect would last forever. For any writer it seems that Nature has designed such glorious destiny for them and the moment is unforgettable. However, getting published is not simple and there are many conditions and procedures to cope with before your work can get into printing machines. Most amateur writers feel disappointed because their work is rejected, but one must be aware that in most cases of rejection the problem is not with the content but with the presentation. Let us learn the procedures through which a new book is dealt with in a stepwise manner so that one can understand how certain books go through while some do not.

Tools to reduce errors while writing

Editing

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How to Think About Content Differently and Reach New Audiences through eBooks

by Devorah Ashlem
Bowker | Tue Nov 17, 2015

When you write a book, you want to get it into as many hands as possible. Technological innovations make it possible to reach more than just hands by enabling you to produce audible books and accessible, portable content for a variety of mobile devices. More than ever, readers demand a high-quality user experience with content, and, through social networking vehicles, they have more ways to complain or share with others when it doesn’t go so well.

In a 2015 survey covering trends in digital publishing, conducted by Bowker and Data Conversion Laboratory (DCL), 72% of respondents indicated that they currently publish digital content and 79% plan to in the future. Whether you author non-fiction, fiction or technical material, you can leverage opportunities to distribute digital books via your own website, Amazon, Apple, and other ebook distributor sites.

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Authors Are Superheroes

by Sharon C. Jenkins
Bowker | Tue Nov 3, 2015

It takes a lot of courage to be an author. Particularly in the 21st Century, when the new literary pathway to success is still being charted. I liken being an author to being a hero. The other day I happened to be looking for synonyms for the word “heroes” and the following words were suggested: Supermen, Champions, Conquerors, Idols, Brave Men, Stars, and Leads. Now all of these words speak of individuals who perform above and beyond their human ability. It is my opinion that authors fit in every last one of those categories. Here’s why:

Authors are supermen and superwomen because they can lift unusually large boxes of books and a pop-up stand with a single hand while talking to their agent on their cellphone in the other hand.

Authors are champions because they still meet publishing deadlines while suffering from acute writer's block.

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How Your Newsletter can get you More Readers, More Visibility and More Sales

by Penny C. Sansevieri
Bowker | Tue Oct 13, 2015

Newsletters seem very 1990’s don’t they? They don’t have the flash of “new media” or the shimmer of a shiny new social media site just waiting to be discovered. What they do have, however, is visibility. In some cases, more visibility than you’re getting on all of your social media sites combined.

I speak at a lot of writer events and in the last year, the buzz has really increased around the need for a newsletter. Why? Well, Facebook has declined in reach; in some cases only 1% of your posts reach your fans. If you’re not paying for placement on Facebook, it’s very likely your stuff isn’t being seen. With everyone on sites like Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Twitter (which also will start monetizing posts) it’s really hard to get your audiences’ attention.

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Write Your Book. Build Your Tribe. Use Periscope.

by Rochelle D. Carter
Bowker | Tue Sep 29, 2015

In my Brand Your Expertise with a Book™ workshop I talk about creating content quickly, and this is another one of those great tools that can help you do that! As an award-winning publisher and award-winning author I get lots of questions on an almost hourly basis about the business of writing and publishing.

How do I put a book together? I have ideas and some written stuff, but nothing concrete as my topic.

This part is simpler than you think. First, when writing any book you have to start with the end in mind. What is the overall goal for your book? You should create your promise statement (aka mission statement) from the beginning so when you get confused with too much content or too little, you will know where to focus to pull it in. Your statement should have the following framework since the idea is to keep it short and sweet:

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Getting Started as an Authorpreneur

by Sharon C. Jenkins
Bowker | Tue Sep 15, 2015

“Hello, my name is Sharon and I am a Powerful Choleric.”

Writing as a child, was an extension of my controlling nature. I was raised in an era where children were spoken to and no response was required or desired. Your opinion did not count and if you felt that it did, you might be searching for your teeth. So, being the little “control freak” I was, I had to find a way to express my view without losing my life and I choose writing as my medium; it became my therapy at an early age.

As a prissy little girl, I decided my writing should be pretty and rhyme, so I embarked on becoming a poet. During my teens, I began to read about poets that looked like me who were popular in the 1960’s and well I became a literary revolutionary. Couple that with the fact that I was cute and you can change my name to TROUBLE.

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Discovery: Another Buzzword We’re Wrestling to Understand

by Penny C. Sansevieri
Bowker | Tue Sep 8, 2015

When I was first in the industry, discovering a book was easy and pretty uncomplicated. Back then, publishing had seasons, and if you wanted readers to find the book, you stuck to the rules. Big books in the Fall; change-your-life titles in January; and summer reads, smaller books and fluff-type titles the rest of the year. Now, however, there are no hard and fast rules. Other than news or seasonal tie-ins, there’s little rhyme or reason to when a book is published. The landscape has changed, and we’re all just trying to figure out the rules.