Karen's blog: bookbaby newsletters

Monday, 9 April 2018

bookbaby newsletters

Here are the latest bookbaby newsletters for my followers to peruse:

Become an Award Winning Author! Enter the Readers’ Favorite International Book Award Contest.

Authors, enter your book today!

There is still time to enter this year’s Readers’ Favorite International Book Award Contest!

Readers’ Favorite is the fastest growing book review and award contest site for authors on the web. Their annual International Book Award Contest receives submissions from contestants that range from first-time self-published authors to New York Times bestsellers like J.A. Jance, James Rollins, and #1 best-selling author Daniel Silva, as well as celebrity authors like Jim Carrey and Henry Winkler.

If you place in the Readers’ Favorite International Book Award Contest, you will become an “award-winning author” with an “award-winning book.” You will also be able to add your Readers’ Favorite Award Seal to your cover and all marketing materials, which will help you grab the attention of book stores, publishers, libraries, and readers!

Enter now

People who are sweating some fine details like to say they are “dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s.” Of course, writers literally do that all day long, but I’m more interested in the idiom: “To take care of every detail, even minor ones; To be meticulous or thorough,” reads the definition.

Today’s message is about being detail-oriented when it comes to self-publishing. One of the most important—and misunderstood—detail concerns the ISBN. Otherwise known as the International Standard Book Number, it’s a small, yet important, issue for successful self-published authors.

I published a post on the BookBaby blog awhile back that attempts to answer some of the most popular questions about that little 13-digit number. You can read all about it here.

And speaking of small details for books: Here’s a story about some mysterious bookplates and their origin. As long as there have been books, their owners have been finding ways to leave marks on them. Learn more here.

All the best,

Steven Spatz
President, BookBaby

Featured Article:
What writing rules do you live by (and which ones do you break)?

Knowing writing rules doesn’t guarantee you’ll produce stellar written work, but aspirational rules can expand your horizons, and practical rules can improve your writing craft. Read more.

You can succeed in the marketplace as an independent author

You can succeed in today’s marketplace as an independent author. There’s data to back that up, though that doesn’t mean a thing if your book has not been professionally edited or designed to compete. Read more.

Reading habits of Americans

Younger people are reading a lot, print books are going strong, and six of the nine top-grossing authors of 2017 are Americans. This infographic takes a look at the reading habits of Americans in 2017. Read more.

$100 off 100+ printed books. Use code SPRINGSALE at checkout.

Top Stories:

Five things you need as you begin a career as a self-published author

A well-crafted unfolding is your ticket to a fabulous book

How to go from author to salesperson

How to read, edit, and evaluate your writing with fresh eyes

BookShop videos: How to make coupons, banner links, and more

9 Ways an editing tool helps you polish your manuscript

Self-publishing in just 5 steps. Learn the entire process—one step at a time—with our free guide.

Featured Article:
Your book needs editing, design, and marketing (even if CreateSpace no longer offers these author services)

When my manuscript returned from an editor’s desk carved in red ink, I learned one huge lesson: a book simply won’t be publishable without professional author services like editing and design. Read more.

Structural language is the foundation of a great story

Analyzing the structural language of a New York Times best seller can give you a whole new view of writing and how great stories are put together. Read more.