Self-Publishers Monthly, February: March 2014

By Danny O. Snow

Realistic advice on the latest self-publishing techniques from a stellar list of expert columnists, plus hands-on, practical tools for the publication and promotion of e-Books and paperbacks at little or no cost to the writer. A treasure trove of short, low-hype reports with minimal technical jargon, plus live hypertext links to free and useful resources.

THIS BOOK IS PART of a SERIES. See the free preview for a list of articles in this month's issue. And please feel free to sample other issues, also available at affordable prices.

There has NEVER been a better time to self-publish a book, whether printed or digital -- or both. In 2012, 17 of Amazon's top 100 sellers in the UK were self-published. In December of 2013, Amazon announced that fully 25% of its top 100 e-Books originated from Kindle Direct Publishing, a favorite outlet for self-publishers.

Want the latest unbiased news about self-publishing from leading experts such as Stephanie Chandler, Scott Flora, Joel Friedlander, Shel Horowitz, Guy Kawasaki, Florrie Binford Kichler, Dan Poynter, Toni Rakestraw, Justine Schofield, Bob Spear and Rachel Thompson? Reports explaining new technologies, current publicity and marketing methods, and more... plus tips and tricks from bestselling DIYP authors, live links to useful resources and freebies?

Pressed for time? Now you can get them all in a single fast and easy read, updated monthly. In today's world, the publishing industry is changing at a furious pace -- sometimes literally from one day to the next. SPM keeps you informed without endless scanning of Web sites, or sifting through zillions of offers from vendors trying to sell you goods and services you may not really need or want.

The goals of SPM are simple: to help self-publishing writers create better books (printed and digital), and market them more effectively; to help you avoid outlets that gouge unwary writers for large investments, or foster unrealistic expectations; to keep you abreast of the latest technologies, trends, and new methods that DIY publishers can deploy NOW for greater success in today's ever-changing industry.

In a phrase: We don't want to sell you anything except SPM itself. We aren't influenced by advertisers or underwriters. Our expert columnists are on your side, delivering even-handed reports about ALL the options for self-publishing e-Books and tree-Books. We don't favor one printer, e-publishing service or bookseller over another, except in terms of how you can get optimal results.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Danny O. Snow
• Release date: Mar 24, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311180964

Danny O. Snow

SELF-PUBLISHERS MONTHLY was launched in 2013 by Harvard graduate Danny O. Snow. He has served as a senior research fellow of The Society for New Communications Research (SNCR.org) since 2008. Snow also works as a consultant to fellow authors and publishers, as a public speaker, and as a journalist. He has written for Publishers Weekly, The Independent, Huffington Post, Indie Reader and many other print and online publications. He is widely quoted by other major print, broadcast and online media about new publishing and communication technologies. In 2009, he was elected to a two-year term on the board of directors of the Independent Book Publishers Association, serving 3,000+ publishing firms across North America and around the world. (Staff photo by Thomas Buckner, Copyright © 2009, all rights reserved.)

Book preview

SPM

Self-Publishers Monthly

Your One-Stop Source for Self-Publishing Success

Vol. I, #6, – February-March 2014

Smashwords Edition

What’s Inside this Issue of SPM?

Four Ways to Help More Readers Discover Your Book by Florrie Binford Kichler

What is Do-it-Yourself-Publishing? by Danny O. Snow

Successful Social Media Campaigns: Getting the ME Out of ME-dia by Rachel Thompson

Develop a Community with Crowdfunding by Justine Schofield

Six Steps to Generating a Powerful Marketing Message for Your Book by Scott Flora

Update on Amazon Rankings and Reviews by Danny O. Snow

Fiction or Nonfiction? by Dan Poynter

Nook’s Goose Cooked? by Danny O. Snow

Cut the Clutter by Toni Rakestraw

Live Links to Freebies and Useful Resources

About the Columnists

Additional contributors to SPM include leading experts such as Steve Barancik of Shared-Self-Publishing.com; Stephanie Chandler of Authority Publishing; Joel Friedlander; Shel Horowitz; best selling author Guy Kawasaki; veteran book reviewer Bob Spear of Heartland Reviews and other popular guest columnists!

Four Ways to Help More Readers Discover Your Book by Florrie Binford Kichler

Double-tap picture to enlarge.

Photo by Booksworm, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0, 2.5 Generic, 2.0 Generic and 1.0 Generic licenses.

Discoverability means the capacity of your book to be found — no small task in a world where millions of books are published each year. The first tool in your ongoing quest to make sure readers find (and buy) your book and not someone else’s is your title’s metadata. The word metadata sounds scary and geeky but simply refers to the unique descriptors that travel with your published book — for example, ISBN number, title, author, cover image, page count, binding, publisher, publication date, main category or genre.

Pretty basic information, but if any of it is incorrect, it could negatively impact the ability of readers to find