Going Indie: 4 Tips Indie Hip-Hop Group Macklemore Can Teach Authors

April 30, 2013 by 6 Comments
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We lurrrrve Macklemore.           In the past six months, indie hip-hop group Macklemore (Ben Haggerty & Ryan Lewis) has become HUGE. Not Harry-Potter-over-two-decades huge, but they’re certainly inching on Hunger-Games-over-five-years huge. “Thrift Shop,” a funky little ear worm that has everyone talking about poppin’ tags, has dominated YouTube waves with nearly 250 million views as of today and has gone platinum. Macklemore is the first indie group (an artist or group without the backing of a major record label) in nearly two decades to top the Billboard charts with “Thrift Shop” and “Can’t Hold Us”; another hit, “Same Love” celebrates same-sex marriage, becoming a standard protest/civil rights anthem. Another hit on their 2012 album The Heist is a track called “Jimmy Iovine,” based on the legendary… [read more]

Filed Under: Audience, Authorpreneur, Branding, Fun, Indie Publishing, Kickstarter, Literary Trends, Media, Self-publishing, Social Media, Technology, Traditional Publishing, Twitter, YouTube Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Guest Post: Authors and the Art of Self-Promotion, by Rachael Oku

April 25, 2013 by 1 Comment
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Authors and the Art of Self-Promotion by Rachel Oku   In every industry, the cliché goes that you have to “pay your dues” before you can make it. Is this really true of writing? Recently published author Rachael Oku wonders. . . . If someone told me I’d be a published author within five years when I graduated college in 2008, I’d have laughed in their face. If someone told me I’d be a published author within five years when I graduated college in 2008, I’d have laughed in their face. Surely I’d have to labour over my ideas and live as a tortured artist in order to hone my craft? Not so. In this the digital age, it’s easier… [read more]

Filed Under: Authorpreneur, Book Launch, Book Marketing, Branding, Guest Post, Motivational, Pitching, Social Media Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Is Your Author Website Working for You or Against You?

April 5, 2013 by 3 Comments
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By now we all know how important it is to have a website for any business. Your book is your business if you’re an indie author, so chances are you have a website. Websites are tricky animals. They’re a necessary evil. We all need one, but few of us can design one ourselves and even fewer of us know what to do after we’ve had one designed. You know the drill: get a website, make obvious updates in obvious places, and let cyberspace handle it from there. Except that’s not enough. Your website is delicate and needy–like a newborn baby waking you up at three in the morning–it needs you. Your website will never be self-sufficient. It’ll never grow and… [read more]

Filed Under: Book Marketing, Branding, Design Tagged With: , ,

Author Interview: Indie Author Genese Davis’s Gamer Fiction, “The Holder’s Dominion”

March 14, 2013 by Leave a Comment
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This week, we (electronically) sat down with one of our favorite indie authors, Genese Davis, to talk about her journey in indie-publishing!   On March 1, 2013, Davis released her very first novel, The Holder’s Dominion, a new-adult gamer-fiction title. Though Davis never thought she would become a gamer—nevermind a gaming enthusiast—she discovered the world of gaming as an adult through Final Fantasy XI, and has since cracked the top 100 in the world for her class in World of Warcraft. Her experiences in gaming laid the groundwork for The Holder’s Dominion, a book meant to encourage excitement around the gaming world.       Genese, please tell us a little bit about yourself. I grew up in Santa Fe,… [read more]

Filed Under: Author Interview, Authorpreneur, Book Launch, Branding, Indie Publishing, Literary Trends, Publishers Weekly, Self-publishing, Thought Leader Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

How to Discover Your Book’s Brand

January 23, 2013 by 3 Comments
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Take a few minutes and name your favorite authors. No, really, think about it. If you were to take a look at their books, you’d notice the synergy of tone, cover, and title. What about your book? Have you considered the stamp you want to leave in  your readers’ minds? If you’re wondering how to create a brand for your book or even what we mean by the word “brand,” just remember this: your book’s brand is your book’s personality. You don’t need a marketing firm to help you create your book’s brand. You just need to know two things: Who is your audience  and How do you want them to feel reading your book.  It’s that simple. Here are… [read more]

Filed Under: Book Marketing, Branding, Self-publishing Tagged With: , ,

The Perfect Book Title

December 7, 2012 by 5 Comments
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Choosing your book’s title is one of the most important and most influential parts of the production process. The book title is the tool to connect with the audience. It is the medium through which readers’ brains make synapses that cause them to register the thought, “Hmmmm . . . I wonder what this is about.” The title is how your book will be known, recommended, and become a  become a pop-culture phenomenon! If I’ve gotten you nervous about picking the right title, calm down. Here are some questions to ask yourself to start narrowing it down to the perfect book title.   1) To subtitle or not to subtitle? First of all, the purpose of the MAIN title is… [read more]

Filed Under: Branding, Title Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Five Books to Read Before You Publish

September 10, 2012 by 6 Comments
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As you know, and as we love to talk about all the time, the best and worst thing about self-publishing is that the author has all the decision-making power. While this is fantastic for a number of reasons–(e.g. authors get all the profits)–it can be detrimental for other reasons–(e.g. the editor wasn’t properly screened because the author didn’t know the right questions to ask). As we also say all the time, the time has come for authors to stop making mistakes in the publishing process! There are too many beautiful, well-made, movement-making self-published books out there that are still being discredited by the stigma perpetuated by the shortcuts of other authors. It’s time for YOU, the author, to take the… [read more]

Filed Under: Authorpreneur, Book Marketing, Branding, Indie Publishing, Literary Trends, Planning, Self-publishing, Writing, Writing Prompts Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Creative Book Marketing Idea: Decoupage Shoes!

August 20, 2012 by 3 Comments
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In this post, you’re not going to learn about self-publishing. You’re not going to learn about book reviews, or about how to get into the swing of eBook marketing on Twitter. You’re going to learn about a very specific and specialized method for your book’s promotion! DECOUPAGE SHOES! Now, you can do this with any book you might choose, but I chose to use Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (don’t worry Potterheads, I didn’t use either of my two hardcovers, I bought a special softcover just for the occasion). Steps: 1) Get supplies! See: shoes, suede/leather glue, decoupage glue, paint brushes, scissors, razor cutter, and of course, the book of your choice!     2) Cut out beloved quotes… [read more]

Filed Under: Book Marketing, Branding, Fun Tagged With: , , ,

The Well-Rounded Authorpreneur: Be a Thought Leader (Part 1 of 2)

August 15, 2012 by 4 Comments
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In today’s world, there are about as many ways to publish (self-publishing, scholarly publishing, nonprofit publishing, digital publishing, etc.) as there are reasons (fame, passion, creating a movement, legacy, preservation, etc). In any publishing realm not solely for personal/family reasons, every author should be an authorpreneur. An authorpreneur (author + entrepreneur) is an author who recognizes what it takes to be successful as an author in today’s world–not twenty years ago. An authorpreneur takes habits from highly successful entrepreneurs and implements them into selling their book. An authorpreneur isn’t just a writer; an authorpreneur is a speaker, social media strategist, networker, etc. The  authorpreneur recognizes that the book is just a piece of the puzzle, a product that supports and is… [read more]

Filed Under: Audience, Authorpreneur, Book Marketing, Branding, Literary Trends, Motivational, Pub. Industry, Speaking, Storytelling, Thought Leader Tagged With: , , , , ,

Revamp Your Twitter Page in 7 Days!

June 22, 2012 by 3 Comments
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Twitter is a wonderful yet overwhelming beast. When used properly, it will be one of the greatest tools in your arsenal for making new connections, building relationships with readers, and becoming an established voice in your topic/genre. When used improperly (i.e. not really used all that much), your Twitter page with 67 followers and 93 Tweets over the course of 6 months is going to do more harm than good! A Twitter page like that sends potential followers the message that you don’t take it seriously; if you don’t take it seriously, they figure you must not be that professional or that much of an expert, and definitely not worth their follow. A moment for sympathizing: I get it. I… [read more]

Filed Under: #hashtags, Blogging, Book Marketing, Branding, Social Media, Technology, Twitter Tagged With: , , ,
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