The Best and the Worst Book Covers

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Interesting book covers are getting more exposure on shelf-displays, both online and off-line. We are a very visual culture, which influences our book-buying habits. A stunning book cover is one of the best marketing tools for any writer!  And you will never have a second chance to make a first good impression with your book – online and offline!  In the last weeks I have seen so many ugly and boring book covers and lots of beginner errors on self-published books, I just had to write this reminder.
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Chris Robley wrote recently in a blog for BookBaby:

1. Before someone buys your book, they will probably read your book description, blurbs, bio, and maybe even skim a few pages from chapter one.
2. Before they can do any of that reading, they will have to pick the book off a shelf, or perhaps click to the book’s page on Amazon, B&N, etc.
3. And before they are compelled to click a link or pick up a book, they will have to be attracted to your book’s cover (or thumbnail image).

From the moment a person picks up your book, you have about 6 seconds to convince them to buy it. This includes the time they take to look at the back cover and the spine.

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Front Cover Tips
E-books are bought online, usually displayed on a page with many other books. Therefore clarity, simplicity, brightness and information must jump off the screen. Use simple, yet stunning graphic elements and bold clear text for the title and the authors’ name, both must be easy to read on the tiny online image.
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And Never, Ever:
use the word “by” before your author name. Using the word ”by” screams DIY self-published.
use a white background for your book! White on white is barely visible and on websites your
book will not stick out, as the sites’ background are almost always white.
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Back Cover Design
Book Layout Designer Joel Friedlaender posted in a great blog 7 Secrets to Writing Persuasive
Back Cover Sales Copy http://www.thebookdesigner.com/2013/05/casey-demchak-back-cover-copy
“If your cover is good enough to grab readers, your back cover copy needs to convince them to
buy. For authors who self publish this can be a challenge because writing promotional copy
many not be their area of expertise. Plus, for many authors it’s never easy to “brag” about
themselves and their own work.”
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Visit a Bookstore
Check out all the books that are similar to yours. Place your book (or a mock-up) between these.
Does it look better? Is the spine eye-catching? Ask other patrons what they think about every
book, but don’t tell which one is yours. Listen to their opinion. Place your book on the first table in
the bookstore where the NY Times bestsellers are placed. Does your book cover really stand
out?  Has any of the bestsellers the word “by …. author name” on the front cover? For sure not!
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Book Cover Size:
Check if there are specific or popular sizes in the genre your book is in. And do all these
BEFORE your book is ready to print. Later changes only confuse readers and they are very
costly.
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Discuss these Points with Your Cover Designer:

• Use bold or complementary colors
• Use light on dark for dramatic effects (if it fits to your book content)
• Test the cover in thumbnail size to make sure it looks good at Amazon’s website
• Use not more than different two fonts in total
• Use not too wide vertical spaces between lines of text
• Use few shadow, bevel, gradient or glow – keep it subtle
• Align the cover text – centre, left or right
• Place text on plain background to stand out
• Let the front cover design flow into the book’s spine
• Use the same fonts for all your books and readers will be able to identify them easily
• People read left to right, top to bottom. Position your elements in appropriate levels of importance

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Read more:

Lousy Book Covers
http://lousybookcovers.tumblr.com/
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Inside Random House: The Journey from Manuscript to Book
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFUcWguqr7U
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Inside Random House: “The Art of Cover Design”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2Z86L25v30
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“23 Creative Book Cover Designs and their Story” is a showcase of creative book cover designs,
indicating the typefaces used for the title or text:
http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/inspiration/creative-book-cover-story
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Front and Back Cover Copy for Book Covers
http://www.coverdesignstudio.com/book-cover-copy/
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Joel Friedlander wrote a great blog about brilliant book titles in one of his blogs:
http://www.thebookdesigner.com/2010/06/how-to-write-book-titles-for-people-robotsJoel
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Book Design and Production
http://www.amazon.com/Book-Design-Production-Pete-Masterson/dp/0966981901
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Basics Design Layout, 2nd edition
http://www.amazon.com/Basics-Design-02-Layout-Second/dp/2940411492/
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“40 Extraordinary Photoshop Text Effects”, it shows detailed tutorials, how to create amazing book title effects, step by step and is using lots of screen shots.
http://www.problogdesign.com/resources/40-extraordinary-photoshop-text-effects

Fonts for book titles:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typeface
http://www.dafont.com/themes.php
http://www.1001freefonts.com
http://www.identifont.com

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From Blank Slate to Cool Cover

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How to find the right cover designer for your novel
by Nicole Eva Fraser

I’m not usually a procrastinator—but I delayed getting a cover design for my novel I Don’t Think It’s
That Simple till after I’d polished and proofed the manuscript and prepped it for e-Book formatting. Why? Because Cali MacKay, who designed the cover for my first novel, The Hardest Thing in This World, was no longer working in the profession, and I was going to have to start my designer search from scratch! Finally, when I couldn’t procrastinate any longer, I dove back into the process.
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First Steps
I wrote the cover blurb for I Don’t Think It’s That Simple. After that, I jotted down a list of key ideas and
their visual translations. This gave me starting points to share with my new designer…whoever she
or he might turn out to be.
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Here’s My Cover Blurb:
Do you think Evan Leighton is a stalker—or a good guy looking for love in all the wrong places?
And how about Julia Atwater—is she an innocent flirt or a shameless manipulator? The one sure
thing is that they both love Julia’s teenage son Hunter—then a surreal accident changes the course
of all their futures. Evan and Julia may touch your heart, they may frustrate or infuriate you, but you’re
guaranteed to recognize someone you care about—even yourself—in their story.
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My List of Key Ideas Boiled Down To:

• loneliness
• love (romantic love and love for a child)
• the solace of nature, especially the Indiana Dunes on Lake Michigan
• basketball

My Very Basic Visual Translations Included:

• a man or woman walking alone on a beach, seen from behind to keep the figure universal
• maybe an inset silhouette of a young man playing basketball
• maybe an inset of a man and boy, suggesting a father and son relationship

I sketched the visuals into a rough cover and added the title and my name in the layout.
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Next Steps
I decided to search for existing book covers whose color palettes, layouts, specific images, or
overall feel resonated for me. I searched Google Images for contemporary fiction and contemporary
romance covers, eventually finding some I connected with
Then I began searching for cover designers whose portfolios resonated for me and whose services
fit my budget. Book Cover Designers (list at DuncanLong.com), Book Cover Artists & Illustrators
(Goodreads forum), and Affordable Book Cover Designers (list at RebeccaBerto.com) provided
great leads. Eventually I switched to a basic Google search, “book cover designers,” and found
Fiona Jayde Media. Her site and portfolio captured my interest and I felt she could be The One.
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Working With the Designer
I queried Fiona, attaching my rough sketch and notes. She sent me a personal reply, attaching her
questionnaire for potential clients, including questions about the mood of the novel, main character
profiles, and emotional keywords, and she requested links to the fonts and other visuals I’d been
considering.

After reviewing my answers, Fiona sent me her ideas. She said my idea of a woman walking alone
on a beach, seen from behind, was a strong central image; and that an inset silhouette of a
basketball player would be too busy, but she could incorporate basketball imagery in the font. She
also suggested fonts with more impact than the ones I’d found.

That all sounded good to me, and I felt relieved to be in the hands of a pro. At that point, Fiona and I
agreed to work together, I paid a 50% deposit of $67.50, and the project moved forward in earnest.
Fiona selected a stock photo from one of her preferred sites. She adjusted the colors to a moody,
natural palette I wanted, selected the fonts, and devised the layout. Her very first draft was close to
perfect and I requested only a tweak before signing off on the final cover; click here to see.
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Wrap-up 
As you can tell, getting from the blank slate to the cool cover was a somewhat painstaking process that, for me, couldn’t be rushed. Be sure to allow enough time in your pre-production schedule for your ideal book cover to be professionally designed.
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About the Author:
Nicole Eva Fraser is the author of I Don’t Think It’s That Simple, forthcoming in Summer 2014; The
Hardest Thing in This World (2013); and GPS for New Novelists: Navigating the 5 routes to
publication (2014).

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If you would like to get more support in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites – or to learn how you can make yourself a name as an author through content writing: We offer all this and more for only $179 for three months – or less than $2 per day! Learn more about this customized Online Seminar / Consulting for writers: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars  Or visit http://www.e-book-pr.com/book-promo/ to advertise your new book, specials, your KDP Select Free Days or the new Kindle Countdown Deals.

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 1,030 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.
Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing
http://www.111publishing.com
http://www.e-Book-PR.com/
http://www.international-ebooks.com/
http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

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How Bookmarks Promote Your Books

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Samples from http://www.uprinting.com

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Sometimes I get a blank stare from younger clients at our Seminars when talking about business cards and bookmarks, these essentials to hand-out at book signings or at book fairs and writers conferences. Business cards are a familiar item but bookmarks? No, they have nothing to do with bookmarking and filing a URL address of a website : )
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What is a Bookmark?
Bookmarks are around for centuries and are used to mark the page were a reader ended – or better where she/he wants to continue to read next time they open their book. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia says:
Bookmark  “A Bookmark is a thin marker, commonly made of card, leatherette, or fabric, used to … As the first printed books were quite rare and valuable, it was determined …”

In the past bookmarks were made out of thin metal, fabrik or paper and artfully decorated. I once received a bookmark, made of silk and decorated with real pearls. Well, nowadays they are made of thin cardboard, gloss-finished or plastic-coated …. but still some are equipped with a small tassel or a ribbon for easy use.
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Hand Out Bookmarks as Small Gifts
Instead of handing out a business card, give book lovers, friends, family, colleagues, acquaintances, book clubs and visitors at fairs or conferences this more casual, but very attractive symbol that ought to show the cover or another image from your books content. It should be colorful and artistic designed, printed on both sides, and show the title of your book in bold letters on the bookmarks top or bottom. And you certainly want the reader to visit your website or blog, so don’t forget to add the URL and also a link to your Amazon author page.

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Get Quotes
Ask not only your business card printer, but also search the Internet for price/quality comparisons. Here are just a few of many companies that offer bookmarks:

Book Mark Printing Samples and Designs of Custom Bookmarks
http://www.uprinting.com/bookmark-printing.html

Bookmark printing – start with a FREE proof. Did you know that most of our products have custom size options? Simply select “Custom Size” on the size drop down and specify.
www.printingforless.com/Bookmark-Printing-Samples.html?
Printed samples of book marks showing a variety of designs and layouts and ways to promote and market your business, product or cause with bookmarks.
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Can I create a bookmark in Publisher? – Publisher – Office.com
office.microsoft.com/…/can-i-create-a-bookmark-in-publisher-HA00123…?
Bookmark templates that you can use to create bookmarks for books. … Publications that are set up to print multiple copies per page, such as postcards, …
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Fast Bookmark Printing Vancouver, Digitally Printed Book-Marks …
clubcard.ca/product/full-colour-bookmarks-digital-printing?
Full Color Bookmarks Digitally Printed, FAST Turnaround! Choose from rush same day, next day or 2-3 business day production time. Digital printing is the …
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Free Printable Bookmarks for Children – Activity Village
www.activityvillage.co.uk/bookmarks?
We’ve got free printable bookmarks here for kids of all ages – great for teachers to hand out in class, parents to slip into a party bag, grandparents to use to …

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Longterm Advertisement – Promote Your Books
An attractive Bookmark will not be thrown away, as many business cards get after a while. It is a long term ad for you as an author and often kept for good in books. How about you? Did you add an image of your bookmark to your Amazon author page? You know that you can post several images – and this would be one to show proudly on your author page.

Tips from readers: 
Stephen from LighthouseMediaWorks.com
Bookmarks should have a QR code so people can scan and buy your book directly from the card.

Marla from marlamadison.wordpress.com
Vistaprint does not have bookmarks but they have a wonderful postcard that costs only about 20-24 dollars for 250! Can’t beat it and it is a great thing to hand out when selling books at an event. They really help to promote your books to all the ereader people. They love it when you sign them for them!

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If you would like to get more support in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites – or to learn how you can make yourself a name as an author through content writing: We offer all this and more for only $179 for three months – or less than $2 per day! Learn more about this customized Online Seminar / Consulting for writers: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars
Or visit http://www.e-book-pr.com/book-promo/ to advertise your new book, specials, your KDP Select Free Days or the new Kindle Countdown Deals.

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 1,015 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.
Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing
http://www.111publishing.com
http://www.e-Book-PR.com/
http://www.international-ebooks.com/
http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

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Comparison of Trade Publishing – Vanity – Author Publishing

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Every writer, no matter if they author-publish (self-publish) or if they have sold their manuscript to a publisher, has to do their own marketing. But how can you promote your book, if you are at the mercy of a publisher – trade or vanity?  What if you don’t own the ISBN and if you have no access to the retailers’ publishing / author pages, such as Amazon, B&N or Apple?  We had clients whos publishers were not able to properly set up the Amazon page, did not choose the proper category, took weeks to make changes to a wrong price and months to add the images and text the author had provided for their Goodreads or Amazon page.
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This is a huge problem (among many others) that authors face after they have given away their work for a pittance – or worse, have paid thousands of dollars to a vanity publisher. So, what’s the difference between both, beside the fact that they make it difficult for their authors to market their books?
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TRADITIONAL PUBLISHERS

• Author needs to have a platform
• Trade publishers accept very few submissions (average: 4%)
• Authors might have to pitch dozens or hundreds of puplishers / agents
• Authors receive a small advance and even smaller royalties
• They do not use POD (single or few books), rather print large quantities
• Authors have barely any say to cover image, publishing date etc.
• Authors cannot decide the sales price, e-book prices are often un-competitive
• It takes very long until the book is published (12-18 months average)
• Publisher pays for printing, editing services and cover image
• Distribution services are covered by the publisher
• Professional marketing services available – but only for celebrity writers
• They own the ISBN for the book

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VANITY PUBLISHERS

• Author needs to have a platform
• Accepts almost ALL submissions
• Author never receives any advance in this “partnership“
• Author contracts are often worse than those of trade publishers
• Author pays for printing or ebook-formatting, editing services, cover image
• Authors have barely any say to cover image, publishing date etc.
• Authors cannot decide the sales price
• Mostly Quick turnaround and Print on Demand (POD)
• Barely any distribution services, compared to commercial publishers
• Vanity publishers don’t live from book sales, they live from printing/author services
• No professional marketing services
• Very few royalties – if any at all
• They own the ISBN for the book
• Your book has only 3 months time in bookstores to sell – before being discarded!
• Bookstores generally are wary of vanity books (except maybe local writers)

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AUTHOR-PUBLISHING

• Authors needs to have a platform in order to build a brand
• Needs to learn about the publishing / book distribution industry
• Needs to plan the publishing / marketing process
• Authors have to find / compare author services (POD, distribution, formatter, designer)
• Authors pays for printing or ebook-formatting, editing services, cover image
• Authors can decide everything: cover image, publishing date, retail price etc.
• Authors can do their own or hire marketing services
• Authors get up to 70% from the books retail price (or 100% if sold from own website)
• Authors own their ISBN – which is FREE in Canada! and low-cost in other countrie
• Bookstores generally are wary of author-published books (except maybe local writers)

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Conclusion:
If an author has all these challenges, waiting times (or costs to cover, in the worst scenario) – and cannot even do the necessary marketing without huge problems, what is the point in having or even paying a publisher?  Why not author-publish / self-publish in the first place, and be totally independent when it comes to your marketing?
Whatever you will decide, take your time, don’t rush in anything and don’t let you sell any services, before you have thoroughly evaluated them. It does not matter if your book launches a month or a year later – important is that you have a platform as a writer and that you find a way of publishing that suits you and that gives you the freedom of your own decisions. If you decide to go with a publisher, don’t forget: Real publishers sell to readers – vanity publishers sell to writers!

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites:  We offer all this and more for only $ 179 for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars
Or visit http://www.international-ebooks.com/book-promo to advertise your new book, specials or KDP Select Free Days.

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 900 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.

Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing
http://on.fb.me/TvqDaK
http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

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Secret of Great Book Cover Design and Layout

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In a former blog: “Becoming Your Own Publisher” the book production process, you can find lots of tips and links for your book layout, cover and formatting process.  Many new authors are complaining about the pre-print process at CreateSpace, other POD service companies or the printing company they use for larger quantities of paperbacks and books. They are suddenly confronted with fonts, typography, page and other book layout requirements. However, not only for printed books, but also for e-books it is essential to know a bit about the possibilities and rules.
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To familiarize yourself with this (often) completely new field, read Joel Friedlander’s beginner
articles

Understanding Fonts & Typography
http://www.thebookdesigner.com/understanding-fonts-typography/

Understanding Book Layouts and Page Margins
http://www.thebookdesigner.com/2013/08/book-layouts-page-margins/
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Joel Friedlander explains the basic building blocks that books are made of, and the typography:
type fonts and they way they are arranged on the page. He says: “There are so many tiny details
and decisions that go into formatting a book that you pretty much have to be someone who enjoys
working on that scale to appreciate book design. It may involve differences of a hundredth of an
inch one way or the other. That’s true for the decisions you make about margins, too.”
He cautions for example that “the “minimum” margin of .25″ that CreateSpace refers to is too small for most books. This margin measurement is meant to create a “safe area” so that nothing on your page is in danger of getting trimmed off.”
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Michael N. Marcus explains why book margins are so important: “One of my basic rules of thumb
is that the a book’s outside margins must be large enough to comfortably fit human thumbs without
covering up any text. It’s really annoying to have to constantly re-position pages while reading
through a book.” His blog is another great reading for new author-publishers how book-layout works. He also wrote a great cautionary book “How to NOT Get Screwed by a Self-Publishing Company“.
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Want to read and learn more about book design? If you are a writer working with a publisher (large or small) or if you are a small or first time publisher, these books will help you to understand the book production process and the principles of good cover and interior book design.

Book Design and Production
http://www.amazon.com/Book-Design-Production-Pete-Masterson/dp/0966981901

Basics Design Layout, 2nd edition
http://www.amazon.com/Basics-Design-02-Layout-Second/dp/2940411492/

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only $ 179 for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars
Or visit http://www.e-Book-PR.com/book-promo to advertise your new book, specials or KDP Select Free Days.

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are almost 900 of them : ) – if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and to StumpleUpon.

Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing
http://on.fb.me/TvqDaK
http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

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100-plus Ways to Promote Your Book for FREE

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You might have read and saved already almost a hundred websites to announce your book for FREE from these reader communities and blogs*:

https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2012/11/03/50-web-links-to-let-your-book-go-viral/
https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2012/11/04/part-2-45-more-websites-to-promote-your-book/

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However, there are even more possibilities to promote your book without incurring costs:

1. Show off your cover image
To submit a cover image of your book including a description / link – if it is an outstanding and creative book cover, show it here for free:

http://pinterest.com/111publishing/books-worth-reading/
http://bookcoversanonymous.blogspot.ca/
http://bookcoverarchive.com/
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2. Use photo-sharing sites to show your cover image
http://Flickr.com
http://500px.com/
http://DeviantArt.com
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3. Participate in a cover image contest
E-book Cover Design Awards by Joel Friedlander, for example this one here: http://www.thebookdesigner.com/2013/08/e-book-cover-design-awards-july-2013/
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4. Show your book trailer everywhere
Upload your trailer not only on your website and blog, but also on Goodreads, Amazon, Google+, LinkedIn, Twitter and FB, but also on more than twenty major sharing sites, starting with YouTube and TubeMogul. Add a link to each of them on your website or wherever your book is sold.

See also an extensive list of video sharing sites for your book trailer in this guide book:
“111 Tips to Create Your Book Trailer”.
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5. Google+ and its communities
There are dozens of reader communities alone on Google+ (for example ours http://bit.ly/VmtVAS) and you can access them from your main Google+ page. On all Google+ sites, images of your book’s cover can be shown, along with lengthy descriptions – several times a day on your own time line, however, on communities better only once in a while, not to be perceived as spammer.
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Don’t forget the Basics!
Use your free author pages, that are provided from Amazon, Goodreads, Pinterest, Google+, FB, LinkedIn, and certainly your own webpage and your blog, where you can show a variety of your book’s cover and images from the content.
Why I mention this?  Too many authors don’t take advantage of these free webpages, they get from online retailers and at their social media sites and where they can show and describe their books to lots of potential readers … 

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* These blog posts are officially copyright registered. To link to our blog posts, and let your own readers know about these websites, please use the RE-BLOG link on top of this page. Thanks! Please learn more about re-blogging here:
https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2013/06/01/re-blogging-vs-copyright-infringement/

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only $ 159 for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/ Once you are on this website, click on Seminar to register.

Please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are 840+ of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Chime.in, Facebook, Tumblr and to StumpleUpon.

Thanks a lot for following:

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How Much Does Self-Publishing Cost?

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How Much Does Publishing Cost?

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Launching a book is like starting a company. Putting together a quality book involves not just writing it, but also setting up a marketing strategy, and get editing, book formatting and cover-design for your book. See how much professional services will cost you to produce a high-quality book of about 65.000 to 80.000 words.

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SOCIAL MEDIA, MARKETING & PROMOTIONS
This is mentioned as the first step as marketing of your book and establishing an author platform can and should start before your book is even finished. You certainly can do some of the marketing yourself, for example your social media presence. Professional help should include an author interview, articles about you and your book, help with marketing campaigns, advertisements and most important of all: first establishing a book marketing plan and the author’s platform / brand. 111Publishing is offering all this for $159 for 3 months. Media publicists can get you radio spots and press articles/interviews for anywhere from $1,500 to $5,000 per month.

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EDITING
Once you’ve written your book, editing is important. Every writer needs at least some type of editor. She/he will evaluate and critique your manuscript, suggest and provide revisions, make sure that everything flows and is consistent, and shape it into a smooth, workable piece. If you write non-fiction consider also a fact-checker, to make sure there are no errors or broken links. 3-5 manuscript pages/hour for a manuscript page that’s approximately 250 words, will cost you, according to the Editorial Freelancers Association:
$45-65/hour based on the experience of the editor. Spell-check, get beta-readers or use inexpensive editing software to prepare your manuscript before you hand it over to an editor, who charges by the hour, in order to save editing time. However there are many professional editors, who charge you less and charge you by the page, sometimes even starting from $2/hour.

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COPY-EDITING
Once your manuscript is in good shape, the next thing you need to do is hire another editor called copy editor or line editor to go through and catch spelling mistakes and adjust for grammar, punctuation and consistency. Costs are approximately $20-50/hour.

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COVER DESIGN
Readers and even book reviewers judge how a book looks on Amazon, B&N or Kobo online sales pages or on bookstore shelves. For phone users, a thumbnail of the cover is probably the first thing a reader sees. It’s important that your cover design is optimized for print (TIFF) and digital (jpeg) thumbnail sizes, and how it looks on an e-reader or mobile device. Get lots of tips for cover design on Joel Friedlander’s website. If you are a professional photographer you might use your own images, or you might need to buy a license to use certain images. If you are lucky, you might find free images. Some e-book cover designers even sell pre-made cover designs for as low as $50.

But if you want to hire someone to make a custom cover design, you can expect to pay anywhere from $150 to $1,500. The higher end is for award-winning designers who have done very professional covers for big, traditional publishing houses.
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PRE-PUBLICATION REVIEWS
There are many resources for authors to get professional reviews. Sites like Kirkus, Blue Ink, and Publishers Weekly all sell review packages for indie or self-published authors. There’s also a great list of bloggers that you can reach out to for reviews for your book. 2012 review costs by Kirkus are $425, BlueInk Reviews $396, Publishers Weekly PW Select $149. More reviewers can be found in our former blog posts. You certainly can ask top authors in your genre if they would review your book and then use their comments/reviews as a blurb on your books cover.
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E-BOOK and PRINT FORMATTING
This is pre-publishing task that you should leave up to a professional, unless you are very tech-savvy, and learned html programming, as free programs, such as Sigil, Calibre or Pages don’t deliver always great conversions, especially if the text is not pre-formatted. If you’re looking to hire an expert, you can find print-on-demand conversions for as little as $150 or as much as $500 and over to convert your manuscript from Word or InDesign. Higher costs are if your book has a lot of pictures, is highly illustrated or if your original file is in PDF, which is more complex to convert.
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ISBN
An ISBN (International Standard Book Number) is necessary for a print book, upload it to Apple or you want to see it in libraries. A lot of third parties sell ISBNs, but if you don’t purchase your own ISBN you may not be listed as the publisher of your own work! Never buy it from someone else than the authorized seller in your country (Bowker for the USA).If you plan on selling your book in e-book format and don’t want to use Apple online retail, then you do have the option of skipping the ISBN, which will be $125 for one ISBN and $250 for ten ISBNs.
ONLINE RETAIL DISTRIBUTION
You can do this yourself by following the instructions to get your books distributed into the various retailers, which is easiest at Amazon, B&N and Kobo. There are service companies, among others:BookBaby, Autorems (for Apple only)  or eBookpartnership. They all charge only a small yearly fee and your books’ revenue is 100% yours.

Never use a third party as they do take a percentage of each book sold – mostly between 10% and 15%, and if your book is successful you might loose quite a bit!
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PRINT DISTRIBUTION
A proud moment for every author: to discover their book in a bookstore or library. However, be aware that bookstores take high commissions 40-50%, and even have the right to return unsold books – unless they are printed in demand (which bookstores take only for pre-ordered books).

Many large US book distributors won’t take you on before you have at least five to ten books in print, and they charge a fee for their distribution, usually 20-30%. As an author-publishers with at least 3 books you might be better off with Lightning Source / Ingram and CreateSpace combined – also due to the print on demand possibilities that both companies offer.

Lightning Source connects you with the world’s largest distribution channel of book wholesalers and retailers. In addition to distributing books through their parent company Ingram Books, they print to order, which means, your book is printed and ready for shipment in 12 hours or less. With over 30,000 wholesalers, retailers and booksellers in over 100 countries your titles will gain the maximum exposure. They work with over 28,000 publishers of all sizes around the world. They deliver digital, print, wholesale and distribution services through a single source, and makes it easy for you to reach more customers in more places.
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GETTING YOUR BOOK PRINTED
For small amounts of print books an author is better off to have it POD, (printed on demand), done by CreateSpace or by Lightning Source, who are also the distributors. POD is produced only after receiving orders.The printing might be higher priced, but you can decide on discounts and there will not be any returns from book stores for unsold books, which can be costly. On the other hand, readers cannot find your book in stores, but have to order it there or order online. However, you save high upfront costs for printing.
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FAZIT:
You might also consider trading services with other authors, in order to get the help you need for your project and to save money. Or you could consider to raise funds through crowd funding, such as Kickstarter or Indogogo. As an author your can do some of pre-publishing, but spending money on quality editorial services will set your book apart from the majority of (self-) published books. It takes consistent, quality production over time. Don’t ever fall into the ‘overnight blockbuster’ mentality. Think of yourself as a writer who will never stop producing quality books.
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Self-publishing costs money. If you want readers to buy your book, you will need to make an investment in order to produce a quality product, above and beyond your beautiful writing. And don’t fall into the trap of the so-called “Publishing companies” or “Self-Publishing” providers, who offer you a bundle of services. Stay independent and carefully check out each pre-publishing provider, get in touch with their author customers to learn about their experience and compare editing, design and printing prices.
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Read also:

https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2013/04/08/how-to-become-a-self-publisher-step-by-step-explained/
https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2013/04/11/becoming-your-own-publisher-book-production/
https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2013/04/12/how-to-organize-printing-or-print-on-demand/
https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2013/04/13/distribution-of-your-print-book/
http://www.bookpromotion.com/how-much-does-it-cost-to-self-publish-a-book/
https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2012/08/08/12-tips-for-your-crowdfunding-project/
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-18438_7-10119891-82/self-publishing-a-book-25-things-you-need-to-know/
http://www.mint.com/blog/how-to/the-economics-of-self-publishing-an-e-book-part-1-0513/
http://www.mint.com/blog/how-to/the-economics-of-self-publishing-an-e-book-part-2-0613/

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only $ 159 for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/ Once you are on this website, click on Seminar to register.

Please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are 820 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Chime.in, Facebook, Tumblr and to StumpleUpon.

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Secret of Colors

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Psychologists have studied how people are affected by colors and found a strong correlation between colors and emotional responses. Choosing the right color is crucial in determining how your book cover, your logo or your author brand is viewed. Be also careful with the background of your portrait photo / avatar!
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Info-graphic by WebpageFX   Their advice: Nearly 85% of consumers name color as the primary reason that they purchase a particular product. 93% look at visual appearance when they buy a product and color improves comprehension, learning and readability.
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My comment:  When you choose/design a book cover, a website or a logo for your publishing business, it’s important to take into account the way people interpret color.  And be aware that colors often have different meanings in various cultures.  Read more about the psychology of color:

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/226791

http://www.colour-affects.co.uk/psychological-properties-of-colours

http://precisionintermedia.com/color

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book heavily promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only a “token” of $1 / day for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/
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Once you are on this website, click on Seminar to register.

Please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are 785 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Chime.in, Facebook, Tumblr and to StumpleUpon.

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Do You Judge a Book by its Cover?

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A book that is brilliantly written, but lacks a good quality cover design will remain unnoticed and undiscovered.  It is absolutely crucial to have a book cover that grabs the attention of readers and book buyers.

Book Covers are often challenging to design as they should show the heart and the soul of the book in one single image and at the same time should be visually striking, appealing and represent the book’s contents.

Will your e-book cover get judged in the same way? Certainly! This is why you really need to focus on the visual design aspect of your cover, because most people will not give it a second glance if it just does not look professional.

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Here are some points you should discuss with your designer.

• Use bold or complementary colors
• Use light on dark for dramatic effects (if it fits to your book content)
• Test the cover in thumbnail size to make sure it looks good at Amazon’s website
• Use not more than different two fonts in total
• Use not too wide vertical spaces between lines of text
• Use few shadow, bevel, gradient or glow – keep it subtle
• Align the cover text – centre, left or right
• Place text on plain background to stand out
• Use the same fonts for all your books and readers will be able to identify them easily
• People read left to right, top to bottom. Position your elements in appropriate levels of importance.
• Never, ever, use a white background for your book! White on white is barely visible and on websites your book will not stick out, as their background as almost always white.

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E-books are bought online, usually on a page with many other books on it. Therefore, simplicity, clarity, brightness and information must jump off the screen. A simple and arresting graphic element and  bold clear text for the title and author must be easy to read on the small online image.
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Bali Rai wrote in one of his blogs:  “In 2002, as one of the judges on the Guardian’s Teenage prize, I remember a book called Thursday’s Child by Sonya Hartnett.  It’s a simple yet wonderful story of 1930’s Depression-era Australia, and it went on to win the award. However, it was not my choice for winner, simply because I thought the cover illustration would deter people from reading it. It was drab and old-fashioned in my opinion and had I not been reading and judging the book, it would have put me off completely.”
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You never get a second chance for a first good impression!

Don’t use just “flat” font – it is almost always better to add some shadow, bevel, gradient or glow. Using various colors, filters, and effects available in Illustrator and Photoshop, you or your book designer can create book titles that are both, original and effective.

Remember always:
Your title and its appearance is the first, and perhaps only impression you make on a prospective reader.  A great image on your e-book cover will undoubtedly catch your reader’s imagination, wondering what lies beyond the cover. It’s a great opportunity to draw people in.
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Not that an appealing cover means automatically a great book, but a book that is accurately and even interestingly represented by its cover, is more likely to catch the eye of someone who is going to enjoy reading it.  Interesting covers are going to get more time on shelf-displays, online and off-line.  We are a visual culture; naturally that is going to influence our book-buying habits.
A stunning book cover is one of the best marketing tools for any writer!
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More online book cover design sources:

“23 Creative Book Cover Designs and their Story” is a showcase of creative book cover designs, indicating the typefaces used for the title or text:
http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/inspiration/creative-book-cover-story
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Joel Friedlander wrote a great blog about brilliant book titles in one of his blogs:
http://www.thebookdesigner.com/2010/06/how-to-write-book-titles-for-people-robotsJoel
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“40 Extraordinary Photoshop Text Effects” shows detailed tutorials, how to create amazing book title effects, step by step and using lots of screen shots.
http://www.problogdesign.com/resources/40-extraordinary-photoshop-text-effects

Using various colors, filters, and effects available in Illustrator and Photoshop, you or your book designer will be able to create book titles that are both, original and appealing. Remember always: Your title and its appearance is the first, and perhaps only, impression you make on a prospective reader.

More about fonts for book titles:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typeface
http://www.dafont.com/themes.php
http://www.1001freefonts.com
http://www.identifont.com

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book heavily promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only a “token” of $1 / day for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/seminar

Please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are 780+ of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Chime.in, Facebook, Tumblr and to StumpleUpon.

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@111publishing

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How to Improve Your Amazon Sales Page

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One of the greatest benefits of selling your e-book (or paper book) at Amazon is the space they provide you to “advertise” your work.  If you are a savvy author, take advantage of this marvelous opportunity and insert as much information about your writing and yourself as you can. 

Look at it from the standpoint of a reader; which e-book or book would you buy: The one that shows just a boring cover, name of the author, and a very short introduction to the book – or the one that:

– has a beautiful cover
– an all-embracing editorial review
– an authors bio with a portrait
– lots of customer reviews

So, what can you do to improve your appearance on Amazon and improve book sales? A lot indeed! Starting with an appealing cover, detailed editorial review, a marvelous author’s bio and lots and lots of customer reviews from readers and journalists that are writing for newspapers book review articles.
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APPEALING COVER
Rule # 1 for your book cover at Amazon is NEVER to use a white background! White on white is barely visible and your book will not stick out, especially when you chose to have the text in black.  Your book cover should be:

• be aesthetically appealing
• appeal to the book’s intended audience
• represent the book’s contents
• clean, readable font
• bold or complementary colors
• light on dark for dramatic effects
• visit a bookstore to research book cover designs
• test the cover in thumbnail size to make sure it looks good at Amazon’s website
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Hire a professional with a portfolio of great book covers you have admired, or one at Freelancer  or Elance  or just get in touch with your local college / graphic design class to find a young and eager cover artist.
An appealing book cover can be even done through the use software, such as Bookcoverpro.com,  if you are computer-savvy and creative / artsy.
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YOUR EDITORIAL REVIEW
Write as much about your book as possible and use all the space you get from Amazon:Editorial Review—350 characters

From the Author, From the Inside Flap, and From the Back Cover—8000 characters
About the Author—2000 characters (All characters are including spaces, single page in 12point arial font is approx. 2100 characters)

See the detailed information on Amazon:
https://authorcentral.amazon.com/gp/help?ie=UTF8&topicID=200649600

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AUTHOR CENTRAL & AUTHOR PAGE
At the Author Central page on Amazon you get lots of free marketing help for your book set up your Author Central account if you haven’t already done so.  In Author Central, click the “Profile” tab. You will see sections for adding or changing your biography, photos, videos, speaking or other events, and blog feeds.  Sections are always available in Author Central, so you can add or change the information later.

It can take 3 to 5 days for the Author Page to appear on the Amazon.com site – so start right now adding content to your Author Page. If you add or make changes later, they will appear on the Author Page within 24 hours of the time you add them in Author Central.  There are lots of features for you to choose from – as more you add, as better:

• Your Profile
• Your Biography
• Uploading Photos & Videos
• Managing Your Blog Feeds & Your Events
• Managing Your Bibliography
• Uploading Book Images
• Managing Editorial Reviews

Get all the information at: https://authorcentral.amazon.com/gp/help

Uploading Videos: You can share video interviews, book signing videos, and other videos with readers. Your videos should focus on specific features of your books or your experience as an author. If you publish at both, Amazon AND on Barnes&Noble, also use B&N’s video feature: “Interviews, Meet the Writers: Video”.

Hire a professional video maker to create your book promotion and upload the video to YouTube, as well as your own website, your blog or these of your friends, your Facebook site (ask all your friends to spread the word and to re-tweet).
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CHOOSE THE RIGHT BOOK CATEGORY
Readers have to FIND your book first to buy it. There is a large list of possible categories to put your book in:  the categories that best match your books based on their content. Study carefully each book that is competitive to yours and see in which categories the bestsellers among them are listed. Narrow down your list as much as possible. You can email Amazon’s KDP and ask them to get your book into the proper categories, telling them the exact line, such as this:

Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Reference > Writing > Writing Skills
More about the right genre in a former article on this blog.
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CUSTOMER REVIEWS
Anyone registered as an Amazon.com customer is entitled to write customer reviews. They do not have to buy your book at Amazon, to write a review. Customer reviews are in order from newest to oldest with the exception of “Spotlight Reviews” that are based on how well the review was written and how helpful it was deemed by our customers.
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BRING IN MORE VISITORS:
What else can you do to bring visitors to you your Amazon page?

1. Create a direct link from your book to your Amazon book’s page
2. Link from your personal webpage, your email addresses, your blog, Twitter, Facebook etc. to your book’s page at Amazon
3. Create a signature with your book link for your email and also for any forums in which you participate. Whenever you write and end with your name, your signature with the direct link is always inviting people to go to your Amazon book page.
4. You can even put your Amazon link to your book’s page on your business card
5. Join the Kindle Forum to ask questions, get help and support from other authors.

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Use every bit of support you can get from Amazon, and also what you can find on this blog, and your book – if written well – will be a success! These tips are (mostly) valid on other book sales pages, such as Kobo, Barnes & Noble or Apple.

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book heavily promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only a “token” of $1 / day for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/seminar

Please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are 750 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Chime.in, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.

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Where Can You Find FREE Photos and Illustrations?

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Even though I am an avid photographer, taking often several hundred images a month, from time to time the need for a certain motive arises.  The question was, where can I find inexpensive photographs?  A lot of research brought up a handful of online offers that I like to share with you. Maybe you need a certain image for your website, your blog or your book.  Please see some websites below that provide good deals on royalty-free photographs or even free ones.

But what is the difference between free, royalty-free and rights-managed?

Free images can be downloaded without any rules or agreement and are in the public domain. The creator offers his work public and free, there are no legal rights or restrictions for his or her work and it can be duplicated.  Images which have been copyrighted can still be considered as free when they are explicitly announced by the artist to be used, copied, distributed or modified.

Royalty-free images are given the right to use. There is an agreement that the licensee can use the photo without paying additional royalty charges, but it does not mean that the licensee can use the image for what ever he/she wants.

Rights Managed images means a contract between the licencor and licensee, regarding licensing the rights to use photographs, specifying to use the content in a certain way. This can include the length of time, the medium, the size, the format and the location of use. Unlike images under royalty-free licenses, the licencor is in control or has history of the rights granted involving the image.
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FREE IMAGE SOURCES

I am only on page 15 of about 3,000 pages of free photos and have downloaded dozens of beautiful images that I can use for websites, books and yes, also for this blog. This is the best of all websites I found so far:

http://www.morguefile.com

An amazing hidden treasure on the internet, ten, no hundred thousands of free images (almost 300,000) and you are allowed to copy, distribute, transmit and to adapt the work. No “accounts” necessary as on other websites, just go to “free photos”, choose an image and download it.
Some of the photos are in such a high resolution that you can use them for your book cover image.
A real treasure trove!

http://www.Flickr.com

http://www.Freedigitalphotos.net

http://www.deviantArt.com

http://www.istockphoto.com

http://www.dreamstime.com

http://www.shutterstock.com

http://www.fotosearch.com/

http://www.photogen.com

http://www.imageafter.com/images.php

http://www.stockvault.net/

http://www.sxc.hu/

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As you browse, pull any images that catch your eye. Don’t assume you’ll be able to return to that page later. Chances are, you’ll never find it again. (most sites are constantly rotating, to show new images) – save the ones you like and cull them later. 

What is your favored website for free photos?

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book heavily promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only a “token” of $1 / day for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/seminar

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Please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 740 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Chime.in, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.

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Interview with Author Michael Watson TREASURE OF THE ANASAZI

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Hello Mike, thanks for being with us today and telling readers more about your Jack Trader series and yourself as a writer. Let’s start, as I have lots of questions for you today:

How would you describe your book to someone who has not yet read it?
Treasure hunters threaten the discovery of the single remaining Anasazi village deep in the Mesa Verde area of SW Colorado. Jack Trader, the main character, and Ranger Samantha Baker must stop the men even when their own lives are threatened. The Anasazi, the coyote people, have the capability to transform if they are forced to protect themselves.

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What inspired you to start writing?
Research about Noah’s Ark led to the writing of my debut novel, “The Nestorian Alliance“.

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How did you get the idea for the novel?
This second novel, “Treasure of the Anasazi“, is a continuation of the Jack Trader series. My research of the Mesa Verde / Durango area gave the inspiration to write this book.

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Are your characters based on real people?
Not specifically, but I’m sure my personal experiences find their way into the characters.

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Treasure of the Anasazi by Michael Watson in a YouTube Book Trailer:
http://youtu.be/UCQp1_NF9yU

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Who is your favorite character and why?
Jack Trader is the leading character and my favorite. He always strives to do the right thing and will take personal risk to protect those around him. He is not perfect. He still struggles with his relationship with Samantha.

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Give us an excerpted quote from your favorite review of this book:
“Darn awesome. I felt like I didn’t want to put it down.”

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Michael Watson

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If Oprah invited you onto her show to talk about your book, what would the theme of the show be? Adventure in our National Parks.

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How much of the book is based on real life (either yours or someone you know)?
It’s not based on any one person’s real-life event(s), but does try to reflect real situations, dialogue and real character actions.

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What would/could a reader or reviewer say about this book that shows they “get” you as an author?
He writes realistic interactions and natural flowing dialogue.

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Thinking way back to the beginning, what’s the most important thing you’ve learned as a writer from then to now?
The writing process cannot be rushed.

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Considering a book from the first word you write to the moment you see it on a bookstore shelf,

what’s your favorite part of the process?
One of my favorite parts of the process is the research.
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What’s your least favorite?
My least favorite is the revising and re-reading over and over and over. Oh yeah. Marketing is a real pain too. It takes away from writing.

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What scene or bit of dialogue in the book are you most proud of, and why?
I enjoyed the last scene when (spoiler alert) Jack and Sam may finally come back together.

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If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything about your book? Nothing. There were changes after my editor and beta-readers went through it though, and I’m glad they did.

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What genre have you not yet written but really want to try?
I’ve never written a western, but I am now in the process of writing one based on research I stumbled upon at the historical museum at Durango, CO while researching this book.

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If your book would be made into a movie, who should play the main character?
Hugh Jackman

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How did you get published? Please share your own personal journey.
After receiving a huge pile of rejections from every agent and publisher I queried by snail mail or email, and failed pitches at numerous writer’s conferences, I took the leap to self-publish. The experience through CreateSpace has been very positive. The downside is the amount of time necessary to market.

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What general advice do you have for other writers?
Write what you are interested in. Don’t follow trends. Establish good writing habits.

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What do you find is the best part of being an author?
Being able to research and write about what interests me. The schedule to write is my own, however, the more structured, the better.

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What is one thing that you have done that brought you more readers?
Hired a great designer (Laura Wright LaRoche) for the book cover. First impression is extremely important, even though we are told not to judge a book by its cover.

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What else your readers would be surprised to know about you?
I didn’t start writing seriously until I was 50 years of age.

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Where can people learn more about your writing?
My blog on http://www.adventurewithmike.com/mikes-books-etc.html

Thanks so much Mike, for answering so many questions I had. And to all your readers: Have fun and enjoy Mike’s great book series!

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Be Spoiled for Choice …

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… how you want to learn book promotion.  And there is a lot to learn: Publishing evolves constantly and the success of your book(s) is very much depending on you, no matter if you self-publish or if you go with one of the big publishers. 

Choices in publishing, essentials of book / e-book layout and design, your platform and brand,  optimizing social media, use of non-traditional ways of book marketing, book distribution, online retailers, learning about  marketing on a shoestring… it’s over-whelming.  But not if you get help from someone who has studied e-publishing and marketing for many years – and practices it all.

Choose between weekend seminars or sign-up for customized online marketing training (special offer in December)  

… or plan ahead for a publishing and book marketing seminar on a 5-day Caribbean Cruise on board of the Carnival Breeze, a brand new cruise liner, taking off in Miami, FL, on November 3, 2013.  Make your travel plans soon, bookings for this offer start at the end of this month!  

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Hello, I’m Doris-Maria Heilmann with 111 Publishing.  We are not only publishers of traditional and eBooks, we extensively market our authors books.  We also host informative seminars for authors on the “art” of promotion. 

During the last years, publishing books has totally changed. Nowadays we writers need to build our own platforms, identify our own demographics, and find our own market share – even if we are with a traditional publishing house!  The profession has changed and we need to adapt in order to succeed.   

Our unique “Seminar-At-Sea” will help authors to:

• Strategically establish a writing career
• Create our own brand
• Identify our target readers
• Find out how to reach these readers
• Market and publicize our books on a budget
• Find free book publishing funding sources

Soon I will be announcing all the details of this spectacular opportunity.  But for now…mark November 3, 2013 on your calendars!!  Connect with your peers and learn invaluable information to enhance your writing career…all while having the time of your life on an exotic Caribbean Cruise!!

Doris-Maria Heilmann

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If you enjoyed this blog post, please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are almost 600 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.

Follow on Twitter: @111publishing

And don’t forget to spread the word on other social networking sites of your choice for other writers who might also enjoy this blog and find it useful. Thanks, Doris

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30 Books by Bestseller Author Rayne Hall

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… and what you can learn from her.

Rayne Hall is the author of thirty books in different genres (mostly horror, fantasy and non-fiction) and under different pen names, published by twelve publishers in several countries and languages (mostly English, German, Polish and Chinese).  Her short stories have been published in many magazines, e-zines and anthologies.

Rayne holds a college degree in publishing management as well as a Masters degree in creative writing.  Over three decades, she has worked in the publishing industry as a trainee, investigative journalist, feature writer, magazine editor, production editor, page designer, concept editor for non-fiction book series, anthology editor, editorial consultant and more.
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Currently, she tries to regain the rights to her out-of-print books so she can update them and publish them as e-books.  After living in Germany, China, Mongolia and Nepal, she has settled in south east England where she lives in a dilapidated seaside town of former Regency and Victorian grandeur.

Outside publishing, she has worked as a museum guide, apple picker, tarot reader, adult education teacher, trade fair hostess, translator and bellydancer.  Many of these experiences have provided fodder for fiction: several of Rayne’s stories feature bellydancers. Many of Rayne Hall’s stories explore the individuals’ responsibility for their choices, and the dark side of the human psyche. Her horror tales are psychological, creepy and suspenseful rather than gory.

She edits a series of themed multi-author short story anthologies (Haunted: Ten Tales of Ghosts, Bites: Ten Tales of Vampires, Cutlass: Ten Tales of Pirates, Scared: Ten Tales of Horror etc). For a list of books currently published under the Rayne Hall pen name, go to Amazon:

She judges writing contests (mostly for short stories, horror or fantasy fiction), coaches authors and teaches online classes for writers among others:

• ‘Writing Fight Scenes’

• ‘Writing Scary Scenes’

• ‘Writing about Magic’

• ‘Edit your Writing’ 

These classes are for intermediate to advanced-level writers and professional authors – definitely not for beginners or the faint-of heart.  Get an up-to-date list of scheduled classes.

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WRITING FIGHT SCENES – the e-Book.
Learn step-by-step how to create fictional fights which leave the reader breathless with excitement.
The book gives you a six-part structure to use as blueprint for your scene. It reveals tricks how to combine fighting with dialogue, which senses to use when and how, how to create a sense of realism, and how to stir the reader’s emotions. You’ll decide how much violence your scene needs, what’s the best location, how your heroine can get out of trouble with self-defence and how to adapt your writing style to the fast pace of the action.

There are sections on female fighters, male fighters, animals and weres, psychological obstacles, battles, duels, brawls, riots and final showdowns. For the requirements of your genre, there is even advice on how to build erotic tension in a fight scene, how magicians fight, how pirates capture ships and much more. You will learn about different types of weapons, how to use them in fiction, and how to avoid embarrassing blunders. Note: The book uses British spellings.

Writing Fight Scenes is vailable from Amazon (US site), Amazon (UK site), Barnes&Noble, Smashwords, iTunes,  Kobo and other online booksellers.

Rayne is active on Twitter where she posts #writetip tweets. If your profile says that you read or write, she will follow you back.
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58 Top Websites to Announce Your Book for FREE

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You might have read and saved my list of 52 websites to announce your book for FREE
https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2012/07/03/47-top-websites-post-your-book-for-free/

There are six more pages to which you can submit the cover image of your book and / or the description, author bio and a link to your book trailer:

• http://wonderworld-variety.blogspot.fr/p/indie-authors-contact-us-get-your-ebook.html
  
• http://indieauthorsunite.weebly.com/members-info.html
  
• http://weread.com/author_search_page.php?src=home&authorRegistration=true
  

To submit a cover image of your book including a description/link go to – if it is an outstanding and creative book cover:

• http://pinterest.com/111publishing/books-worth-reading/
• http://bookcoversanonymous.blogspot.ca/
• http://bookcoverarchive.com/
  

See also an extensive list of video sharing sites in my upcoming book:
“111 Tips to Create Your Book Trailer” which will be available on Amazon beginning of August.
Upload your trailer not only on your website and blog, on Amazon, Google+ and FB, but also on more than twenty major sharing sites, starting with YouTube and TubeMogul.  Add a link to each of them to your website or wherever your book is sold.

If you enjoyed this blog post, please feel free to check out previous posts (there are almost 500 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “Like” next to it.

Follow on Twitter: @111publishing

And don’t forget to spread the word on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Tumblr or StumbleUpon – or other social networking sites of your choice) – other writers might also enjoy this blog and find it useful.

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