Hybrid publishing report UK

Is Hybrid Publishing Profiteering? See what a UK report says

The Writers Guild of Great Britain and ASA recently surveyed 204 UK writers who were independently published. Findings made for sober reading. For instance, 59% of authors were not satisfied that their paid hybrid publisher did enough to get sales or interest in their book.  And monetary losses were heavy; 94% of authors surveyed lost money on hybrid / paid for publishing contracts. (Around half of respondents chose this publishing type). There was a median loss of £1841 each, although there was a broad range. It would be extremely interesting to gain similar insight into Australian author experiences. I personally have heard of a $20,000 publishing loss, along with other losses on website design. In the report ‘Is it a steal?‘, the Writers Guild concluded that “of all the publishing approaches available, a ‘hybrid’ / paid-for deal is the worst option a…
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Self-Publishing, Updates

News in Publishing and Book Writing

I found an interesting website for writers looking to publish with a true publisher or go in literary competitions, one that will save you ‘bags of time’. It is called DuoTrope and is free to join, with small tips for submitting to the publishers. I recommend it because the listings are all updated; they’re sifting through the wheat and chaff for you. Their book submission manager helps authors keep track of submissions, and that’s called Duosuma. When I was doing the Rabbit Hole Challenge writing day, I made a donation to QWC (Writer’s Centre). Then to my surprise, I won this bag! I only completed 1.5 hours of writing my book but it helped get me back ‘into the groove’. What things do you do to get your book writing going? A New Write – Edit – Format Tool Another…
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Author-First marketing

Author-First Book Marketing: First 4 Tips

Having a foundation in online book marketing makes a difference to any author’s ability to succeed in the market. With an Author-first approach, it’s making sure you and your brand goes out into the world. Many of you will have a coaching, consulting or a particular business in the background and with this approach, it’s going to have the most effect. The first three times I published, I had zero brand and no real connection to ‘me’.  The next time I published, I went hard on research and achieved some relevance by adding my own case study experiences (and supplier details) to the book. If I could start again, I would make all my books talk to the one audience, even if on a number of different topics.  Well, I guess it’s never too late to start over! 1. Start…
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a workspace with a laptop and letter board

Creating Abundance, Stepping into your True Self

Readers, I have had a revelation. Though I’m not one to sit around a circle, chanting and raising karmic vibrations, I have been tapping into abundance through a course called ‘Energetics of Money’. I believe my revelation applies to all, which is… Your success rests not on a sole focus on revenue and reward, as those adverts would have you believe, but on increasing your exchange of value and raising your personal energy/vibration to positive and generous levels. Creating abundance is done through inner work. An example of the profound results of this inner work comes from one of the ladies in the course, Christie from Dented Diva. With newfound confidence, she approached the ‘Love Your Sister’ charity about a potential partnership. Yes, they welcomed her quality earrings in their market store. She is remarkably clever with her handmade earrings.…
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author brand cheat sheet

Author Brand Cheat Sheet

If you’re lagging in social media followers and personal brand style, then you’ll want to read these cheat sheet tips for author brand strategy. While others specialise in marketing books, I prefer to focus on helping authors market themselves first. But why? This focus puts the author in the best place to then sell books, with simple tactics like emails to their list or a series of content posts. The trouble I had with launching earlier books was I had no platform. First steps were a simple blog site and a Twitter account (this was in 2009). Author Branding First Steps—Shoot First! As a relatively high-quality image of your good self will give you instant credibility, it’s wise to put aside modesty and get pro photos taken. There are many uses for these. Head Shot – studio ‘Doing’ shot –…
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Kindle Select ebook publishing
Self-Publishing

Why Choose Kindle Select?

I have only one title able to enrol in Kindle Select, as with my own books I thought it best to go wide since Aussies love their iOS devices (iBooks), however, most new authors who have no platform to sell from yet are inclined to go for the narrower Kindle Select distribution option. Let’s look into why. About Kindle Select  (from Amazon KDP) When you choose to enrol your book in KDP Select, you’re committing to make the digital format of that book available exclusively through KDP. During the period of exclusivity (90 days), you cannot distribute your book digitally anywhere else, including on your website, iBooks, Google Play, etc. It is important that you heed the notices and act if you want to OPT OUT of the program after 90 days.  If you don’t want to renew, simply go…
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