In great news for authors--or anyone who want to leverage the scope and power of Amazon's customer base--Amazon unveiled a new tool that allows anyone to host a giveaway through the platform. Under Amazon Giveaways, the order fulfillment--whether it's a self-published ebook or today's hot up-for-grabs items, such as the crowd-pleasing Hutzler Banana Slicer (seriously, the … [Read more...] about Amazon Launches Giveaway Tool
indie author
The Indie Author Dream: Fact or Fiction?
Much of the ongoing drama between the self-publishing proponents and the traditional publishing industry boils down to one chief concern: money. With whole data sets dedicated to examining not only what self-published authors truly earn but also what traditionally published authors are (or more likely, are not) earning, the facts seem pretty clear: Authors who do the work of … [Read more...] about The Indie Author Dream: Fact or Fiction?
Author Earnings 2015: Indies Are Still Winning, the Industry Still Doesn’t Believe It
You have to hand it to Hugh Howey and the elusive Data Guy: they do a great but thankless service for which they receive heaps of professional scorn, but they don't let that stop them. Every time they release a new Author Earnings report filled with charts and graphs and actual information culled over countless hours at the computer, I remember the scene from the film Day After … [Read more...] about Author Earnings 2015: Indies Are Still Winning, the Industry Still Doesn’t Believe It
Book Baby Just Broke the Internet for Indie Authors
Since the original innovations in digital publishing and self-publishing first came along, there have been a few upgrades and features added to the concept, but nothing that really shook up the process, at least not in the same way that self-publishing originally turned the publishing world on its collective head. But a new program from ebook and print distributor BookBaby … [Read more...] about Book Baby Just Broke the Internet for Indie Authors
SelfPublishing Info Sessions for Indie Authors
In some ways, the current state of digital publishing is even more mysterious to indie writers than when the doors first opened on publishing a handful of years ago. With so many more options than the first wave of publishing revolution, even seasoned, published authors may find some of the new options and features a little daunting. Two of the many reliable, on-going … [Read more...] about SelfPublishing Info Sessions for Indie Authors
Amazon’s Latest Tool a Great Benefit to Indie Authors
There are reports that Amazon has a Square reader-like device in the works, one that will plug into a smartphone or tablet (presumably not only the Fire phone or Kindle Fire) and allow small business people to take advantage of the reliance on credit cards that many consumers have. Just like other devices by Square and PayPal, this device--whenever it launches, although some … [Read more...] about Amazon’s Latest Tool a Great Benefit to Indie Authors
Uncovering the Inner Workings of the Author Earnings Report
Ludicrous accusations have come out from various corners of the publishing industry, some of which are rabidly anti-Amazon and anti-self-publishing, claiming that the information in the notorious Author Earnings reports is flawed at best, and intentionally misleading at worst. The reports, which claim to only be interested in helping all authors make sound decisions based on a … [Read more...] about Uncovering the Inner Workings of the Author Earnings Report
Traditional Publishing Dismisses Author Earnings Report
In what is perhaps the single most telling example of why the traditional publishing fails to address the needs of authors, The Guardian posted an interview with Phillip Jones, editor of the Bookseller, and Nicola Solomon, general secretary of the UK's Society of Authors. While the Bookseller is a publishing industry news source and the Society has recently spoken out about the … [Read more...] about Traditional Publishing Dismisses Author Earnings Report
Readers Gravitate Away from Free eBooks
During the e-reader boom period from 2009 until 2013 many people got switched onto digital. Online bookstores did record business and many new entrants came to the market, offering their own self-publishing systems. One of the tools that authors employed to get their book out there was giving it away for free. Whether they made it free for a short period of time or did it from … [Read more...] about Readers Gravitate Away from Free eBooks
Five ABNA Category Winners Annouced
The end is almost near for this year's Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards, hosted by Amazon and CreateSpace. A contest that began in January with 10,000 entries from authors across a spectrum of genres has now been whittled away to just five finalists. At each stage in the contest, the field of entries is narrowed dramatically, leading up to today's announcement of the five … [Read more...] about Five ABNA Category Winners Annouced