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?
self publishing
Romance Still Tops Bestsellers at Smashwords
eBook distribution platform Smashwords has forged a lot of the paths that self-published authors have taken, and has provided a lot of groundbreaking data to help authors form career plans that may or may not include the status quo. One of the many sources of information that Smashwords provides the industry as a whole is a look at its bestsellers lists broken down for the … [Read more...] about Romance Still Tops Bestsellers at Smashwords
Amazon Announces a New KDP Select Perk: Amazon Marketing Services
Authors who've enrolled their books in Amazon's exclusive program KDP Select might have noticed a new feature in their dashboards, tucked in among the various clickable topics. Amazon Marketing Services allows authors to setup an ad campaign for their exclusive titles, one that is designed to put their books in little "ahem" boxes next to customers' selections based on either … [Read more...] about Amazon Announces a New KDP Select Perk: Amazon Marketing Services
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
Self-Publishing the Family Cookbook
When the digital revolution kicked off, it sparked a wave--for better or for worse, depending on which supporter or critic you ask--of self-publishing opportunities that many were quick to take advantage of. But there were key groups who were left out at first, namely children's book authors, graphic novelists, photo array creators, and similar content developers. But thanks to … [Read more...] about Self-Publishing the Family Cookbook
Story2Go SelfPub Children’s eBook Creator App
The digital revolution and its subsequent self-publishing hey day have perhaps sparked more change in literature and publishing than any event since Gutenberg started tinkering, but for all of the great talk of "equalizing" and breaking down barriers, what industry watchers were really referring to was text-based novels. A number of demographics in the publishing business were … [Read more...] about Story2Go SelfPub Children’s eBook Creator App
Amazon Textbook Creator Could Be the Khan Academy of Textbooks
Once you secure your position as the ultimate player in self-publishing, where do you go from there? The textbook self-publishing market. Amazon has released the specifics on its new textbook creator app, Kindle Textbook Creator, and while it doesn't look like it has much to offer in the way of never-before-seen innovation, it does bring the benefits of self-publishing to those … [Read more...] about Amazon Textbook Creator Could Be the Khan Academy of Textbooks
Cutting Out Amazon: Why Direct-to-Consumers Hasn’t Taken Off
At this year's Digital Book World event, there's a highly anticipated panel on publishers selling directly to readers, branding themselves for their loyal fans in such a way that there's no need to haggle with Amaz-- make that, negotiate with book retailers. Unfortunately, this highly anticipated panel just isn't new. Publishing industry events have been debating the ins and … [Read more...] about Cutting Out Amazon: Why Direct-to-Consumers Hasn’t Taken Off