BookBaby newsletters

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

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Create your cover Whether you’re cataloging your next Humans of New Hampshire edition or unveiling clues in your whodunit novel, you need a book cover that stands out on the shelf. With years of experience and thousands of titles under their belts, our designers will help you express your book’s themes while transforming your cover into a powerful selling tool. Choose from two design options: Basic Cover Design: We’ll focus on one central image that will be designed to both grab the reader’s attention and convey the subject of the book. Deluxe Cover Design: Graphic elements, textures, and photo blending are combined to create a scene that showcases your book’s content. Special Offer Buy printed book design and your eBook cover is free Cover design is more than a feature—it’s a necessity. Start getting noticed today. Create your cover

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Featured Article: The Final Edit Transforming your work from “draft” to “done” can be daunting, and the process can differ depending on the needs of a project. Here are strategies for reviewing your text, regardless of context, when preparing your final edit. Read more. Why Companies Should Use (Your) Books as Promotional Products Books are tasteful, customizable, and convey a touch of class to a promotional effort—so why not pitch your books as promotional products to corporate buyers? Read more. BookLife Offers Free Book Reviews for Independent Authors Publishers Weekly’s BookLife program offers free book reviews for independent authors—the BookLife Prize offers a cash grand prize to boot. Read more.

Top Stories: I'm an Author... Do I Need a Blog? Reading Habits Around the World [Infographic] It’s Never Too Late to Start Writing Performance Tips for Authors Five Reasons To “Take out the Trash” in Your Writing Trends in Publishing
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A message from one of our trusted partners: Enter now Authors, enter your book today! There is still time to enter this year’s Readers’ Favorite International Book Award Contest! Readers’ Favorite is the largest book review and award contest site for authors on the web. Their annual International Book Award Contest receives submissions from first-time self-published authors to New York Times bestsellers and iconic publishers like Random House, as well as celebrity authors like Jim Carrey and Henry Winkler. Book awards grab the attention of book stores, publishers, libraries, and readers! By participating in the Readers’ Favorite International Book Award Contest, you will have a chance to become an award-wining author with an award-winning book! You will be able to add your Readers’ Favorite award seal to your book and all other marketing materials, which can significantly increase your sales. The contest also features $50,000 in prizes and other bonus features! Enter now

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Featured Article: Four Must-Read Books by Authors Who Died in 2018 Some bright literary stars died in 2018. I'll remember these four writers for their contributions to literature and society, which will continue to have an impact for years to come. Read more. Transform Your Writing With Exquisite Patterns Great writing is full of intentional features that give a rhythm to the music of the text. Novice writing is not. Patterns bring readers into a story and are often what make writing great. Read more. How an Author Platform Helps Promote Your Work Wondering what an author platform is (and why you need one)? This post answers some basic questions to get you thinking about how to grow your platform before you publish your book. Read more.

Top Stories: The Final Edit Why Companies Should Use (Your) Books as Promotional Products BookLife Offers Free Book Reviews for Independent Authors I'm an Author... Do I Need a Blog? Reading Habits Around the World [Infographic] It’s Never Too Late to Start Writing
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Saturday, May 18, 2019 Welcome to the weekend,  This week’s Q&A session will focus on your questions about one of the most challenging aspects of self-publishing: book marketing. George B. writes: “I have published three books through BookBaby and love the service — a fourth is in the works and will be pursued the same way. I have a few reviews of each book on Amazon, and I have purchased reviews. My question: Are there some key actions for an author to take to increase the number of reviews on Amazon? Is that even a reasonable goal?” Great question, George! Not only is this a reasonable goal, but it’s also an essential part of successful book marketing. More book reviews equal more sales. It’s as simple as that. Excerpted from my 5 Steps To Self-Publishing Guide, this blog post includes a checklist for getting reviews and advice about working with reviewers. Next up is Penny H., who asks: "I did a complete publishing package with BookBaby and was very pleased with the finished product. Customer service was amazing. Is there an inexpensive way to promote my book?" I received dozens of questions just like this. To answer Penny and all the others, I have one word that summarizes the key to successful book marketing: Invest. Sure, that can mean spending money. Many authors fund strong marketing programs that have the potential to sell a lot of books. But nearly every self-published author has the resources to invest in a very different way: With dedicated time and effort. If you’re willing to put in the hours needed to learn and then execute on low cost or even free promotional strategies, you can expect a good result. The BookBaby blog is crammed full of great marketing ideas, but I’d suggest you start here with this post on social marketing tips for first-time authors. E. L. James is an excellent example of a self-published author who found success without draining her savings account. The Fifty Shades series author has returned this spring with another passionate romance series.

All the best, Steven Spatz President, BookBaby

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Featured Article: It’s Never Too Early to Start Writing Young authors abound in modern and classic literature. While age brings wisdom and experience, youthful imagination and perspective have served many writers through the ages, as evidenced in this post. Read more. A Stellar Book Opening…It’s Not About the Weather As Elmore Leonard once said, “Never open a book with weather. If it's only to create atmosphere, and not a character's reaction to the weather, you don't want to go on too long. The reader is apt to leaf ahead looking for people.” Read more. My 20-Step Plan to Writing a Book: Part 1 (Steps 1-10) Writing a book is hard work—it’s easier to quit than finish. When you become overwhelmed by the sheer scope of the task, you might be tempted to give up. The key is to follow a proven, straightforward plan. Read more.

Top Stories: Four Must-Read Books by Authors Who Died in 2018 Transform Your Writing With Exquisite Patterns How an Author Platform Helps Promote Your Work The Final Edit Why Companies Should Use (Your) Books as Promotional Products BookLife Offers Free Book Reviews for Independent Authors
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Saturday, May 25, 2019 Good morning, I'm interrupting our regular programming of publishing Q&A's with some breaking news: BookShop now lets buyers opt-in to share their email address with you after they've bought your book! As a BookBaby author, you have a new, exclusive feature to help you engage with your readers. When someone buys your eBooks or printed books through your BookShop page, they are asked if they want to share their name and email info with you, the author. When that buyer gives their permission at checkout, you as a BookBaby author can then follow up with messages such as thank you notes, special offers, or a newsletter! Here are the details. I can't emphasize it enough: This is a huge deal for self-published authors. To sell books in today's competitive book marketplace, we authors need to do everything we can to engage with readers. But online retailers like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Apple (and everywhere else) won't share buyer information with the author, denying us the opportunity to form a critical relationship with readers. To my knowledge, BookBaby's BookShop is the only online bookstore that will share a buyer's email address with the author (with the buyer's permission). There are plenty of other reasons why our most savvy authors send potential readers to their free BookShop pages: Authors make more—lots more—selling books through BookShop, earning 85% of eBook and 50% of printed book gross sales. Your books are in stock 24/7/365—so crucial during the busy holiday seasons. BookBaby pays authors weekly—not after 90+ days like the other guys. We don't sit on your money. And now BookBaby authors have a chance to meet, greet, and sell more books to your loyal readers! If you're a BookBaby author and you have not yet optimized your BookShop retail page and started promoting it via email and social media as the primary retail destination for your potential readers, you're missing out! Log into your account to get started.

All the best, Steven Spatz President, BookBaby

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Saturday, May 11, 2019 Happy Saturday, Today, I’d like to continue responding to your excellent questions on self-publishing. I received several queries about Amazon and the decision to shut down CreateSpace. Here’s a sample: Mike S. wrote: "I’ve had my books with CreateSpace for many years — and now they’re gone. Rather than trying to figure out the new KDP system I want to bring my books to BookBaby." If you’re not aware, there have been a lot of changes lately at Amazon. Last summer they ended their book editing and design services for authors. Just last week they announced they were shutting down two writing tools, Storywriter and Storybuilder. If your books are already in distribution in the current KDP system, I’d recommend you leave them there. Withdrawing a physical book from distribution can take a long time. It could take months for inventory to be cleared out of Amazon warehouses and that has to happen before you can take your book somewhere else. It’s usually just not worth the effort. If you need extra copies of your printed books, just contact BookBaby. The best way to start is to email info@bookbaby.com or call us at 1-877-961-6878, and we’ll walk you through the process. And, of course, we’re happy to help you with any new book projects too! Here’s a question from Noel B. about distribution options: "First of all I’m 73 years old. After looking for an agent for over a year in 2013/14, I decided to self-publish with Create Space. My book was very successful, I think. I’ve sold over 1,000 copies, and it is still generating interest. I am ready to self-publish my second one now (a sequel upon request from my fans). I am thinking about using IngramSpark because I think I can have better distribution with it. What do you think about IngramSpark? Who can I self-publish with to get the most distribution opportunities?" First, congratulations on the success of your book, Noel! IngramSpark is a great company to work with—I have nothing but positive things to say about them. But if you’re asking about the most distribution outlets, your answer is BookBaby. We distribute your books through the same Ingram network and far beyond, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Baker & Taylor, BooksAMillion, and others. Thanks for your emails. Tune in next week when I tackle some of the ever-popular questions about book marketing!

All the best, Steven Spatz President, BookBaby

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Learn more Amazon may be one of the best places to distribute your book—but it isn’t the only place. The greater your reach, the more success you can enjoy. Here are four ways publishing with BookBaby benefits your book on Amazon and a range of other leading retailers across the globe.

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Saturday, May 4, 2019 It’s answer time, I’ll be using this space for the next few weeks to answer your thought-provoking questions about writing, editing, marketing, and self-publishing. Let’s dive in! Marcy S. asks: "Any tips on how to offer the best vision of the cover for the graphic artist. Sketch? Color palette? A photo of cover style that we like? Your guidance is greatly appreciated." Thanks for the question, Marcy. I think you’ve taken the right first step by having a professional designer work on this critical part of your book. I’d suggest taking a look at this collection of posts from the BookBaby blog, "Image Formatting and Cover Design Advice." It’s a compilation of some of the best articles we’ve published on all aspects of cover and book design from the leading experts in self-publishing. Next…I’m going to put two queries together because the answer is basically the same: Janice W. asks: "Is there any way to get international distribution for women in developing countries?" And Cat from Canada writes: "Okay, I’ve done it. Book written, edited and sitting on my laptop. Now what? I don’t have the means to pay big bucks to get it published and out there, so what can I do?" I would recommend you both think about publishing your manuscripts as eBooks. Third world countries around the world are rapidly embracing the digital book format. These folks are using smartphones for almost everything in their daily life, including consuming books. BookBaby works with authors around the globe, and our eBook distribution is vast—covering over 60 online bookstores in 170+ countries. Publishing an eBook is a less-expensive option compared to ordering printed books, and it’s a great way to put your toe into the book marketplace! David R. asks: "I am considering publishing a self-anthology of short stories next year. If one uses BookBaby for self-publishing, what is the maximum and minimum word count for eBook and soft cover print fiction book?" There’s really no maximum word count for eBooks. Many bookstores put a cap on the file size of an eBook, but that usually involves books with hundreds of illustrations and graphics. As for print, as long as the book is under 840 pages, our digital presses can handle it. But, frankly, I wouldn’t advise one huge volume. I’d recommend you target no more than 70,000-80,000 words for the final product. And finally here’s a question from Bob: "I have four books published and one 10% done. It’s been 10% done for several months. It’s a great topic that I’m enthused about but I’m blocked. What do you think are the top two or three things a writer can do to overcome writer’s block?" I can relate to this one—writer’s block has been something I’ve battled for a long time. I posted an article on Quora last month, "What’s the best way to overcome writer’s block?" that might help you get back on track! Next week we’ll take a deep dive into one of your most popular concerns: Migrating your book from CreateSpace to BookBaby!

All the best, Steven Spatz President, BookBaby

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A message from one of our trusted partners: A Premier Contest for Self-Published Books Enter your self-published book into the fifth North Street competition, sponsored by Winning Writers and co-sponsored by BookBaby and Carolyn Howard-Johnson (author of The Frugal Book Promoter). Choose from six categories: Mainstream/Literary Fiction, Genre Fiction, Creative Nonfiction & Memoir, Poetry, Children’s Picture Book, and Graphic Narrative (new). The top winner in each category will win $1,000, one grand prize winner will win $3,000, and all will receive additional benefits to help market their books. Any year of publication is eligible. Entry fee: $60 per book. Deadline: June 30. Submit online via Submittable or by mail. Winning Writers is one of the “101 Best Websites for Writers” (Writer’s Digest). Click to learn more about our guidelines, past winners, and judges’ remarks. Learn more In addition to cash awards, our top 7 winners will each receive a $300 credit from BookBaby, our contest co-sponsor

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Edit your book Editing turns good writing into a great book. So why trust BookBaby to get you to the finish line? Your book is edited within 8 to 10 days. You save up to 50% compared to other editing services. See for yourself. Your book is edited by pros who have worked on New York Times bestsellers. You have final approval on all edits and suggestions. Your complete satisfaction is guaranteed. Don’t take it from us “I recently ordered line editing on one chapter, as I wanted to critique your services. The editor’s suggestions and comments made the chapter read smoother, added fluidity and understanding. Best seventy dollars I ever spent. I will be sending every chapter, even the back page blurb, in for line editing. Fantastic! I am so glad I chose BookBaby.” — Lee

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