Jennifer Lancaster

November 28, 2016

Claim your Public Lending Rights in Australia

Many authors are getting their books into libraries, and so can make a claim to make up for lost royalties because of free lending under the Public Lending Rights Scheme 1997. Did you know… almost 18,000 individual lending right payments totalling over $21 million were paid in 2015-16. So, if you meet the criteria, registering for Public Lending Rights (or ELR, for educational libraries) can be worthwhile. If you can handle some online form-filling, there could be a little money in it for you. (They will survey where your book is found and it needs to be found in 50 libraries, which is quite a few, so this may take quite some time). Title claims for books published 2011 to 2016 are now being accepted until 31 March 2017. Creators can be authors, illustrators, editors or compilers of a work – and…

November 2, 2016

Personal finance and scams

How do you keep Positive when all your Income Streams turn to Custard…?

My dear bloglings, I am so qualified to write this post that it’s not even funny! Circa 2008 – 2010 was tough, tough, tough. Going backwards is never fun. Positive thinking is lambasted, but what I write about is positive psychology and ideas to keep you motivated. I know we’re all trying to put on a brave and successful public face, but at times do you feel like you’re one key client account away from closing shop… or are you royally pissed off at your expensive marketing going nowhere? Been there, wrote the handbook. So, here are four tips for those freakin’ out times (and beforehand). 1. Always have an emergency fund of preferably 3 months’ bills, and when that gets really low, only then look for a credit card with a low interest rate (e.g. 8.99% McGrath Community First…

August 14, 2020

Publicity

Publicity Planning for a Book Launch

Something that many of us non-professional authors struggle with is getting media attention for us and our book, i.e. book publicity planning. First of all, you will need to tick off the fundamentals: Is your book and ebook available in the usual places online: Amazon, iBooks, Kobo, and big and bold on your website? Is your book cover professionally designed? Is your book edited to within an inch of its life? Do you have a good story around your book… is it a newsworthy topic right now? Planning some publicity might start with a good ‘book blurb’ and a press release tied in with a newsworthy angle. The book blurb need not be long for this purpose. The places to release or pitch your story to include: Digital magazines: at the bottom of a non-promotional article, e.g. Women in Focus community, BusinessBusinessBusiness.com.au,…

October 24, 2016

Self-Publishing

Why do I need an ISBN?

An ISBN is an International Standard Book Number, and it identifies a book format and title to all booksellers, readers and libraries. It is not a book cost which you should cut from your plans. While you can choose to publish privately for company profiles, client guides, etc, having an ISBN opens up your book to be ready for purchase through traditional book retailers, online bookstores, libraries and book finder tools. (See my favourite book price checker, https://booko.com.au/ – try a book search on your own book.) The Benefits of Using an ISBN Having an ISBN assigned to your title enables you to obtain a CiP (Catalogue in Publication) entry from the Australian National Library. This in turn means that your book can contain data helpful for librarians when cataloguing your book. ISBNs are the global standard for identifying titles. ISBN 13s are used worldwide…

September 15, 2025

Blogging Strategy

How to Write Catchy Posts that Attract New Readers

Planning your article writing is very much a necessity when you’re busy. Service always comes first and article research gets pushed back, so you grab an idea without first thinking if it will have an impact or attract your audience. But how do you write catchy posts? The first step is to do keyword research and audience research. The first focusses on getting viewers who are searching for this niche answer online. The second part is finding out what ideal readers, hungry for your message and content, are really after. Some tools or techniques for audience research: Google Trends. Put in 2-3 topics of interest and compare popularity. Google. Input ”Your industry” News, and then see “most read” articles in a known media source, e.g. news.com.au. You might need to go to the business section. Facebook Groups. Check the industry topics…

April 3, 2020

Book Editing

Copy Editing versus Developmental Editing

What is the difference between these two levels of editing? Early on in the book’s formation, developmental editing may be needed, whereas later on, once the structure is in place, copy editing will zoom in on the paragraph and sentence level. As a copy editor (websites, tenders, newsletters, and now books), I’m comfortable with suggesting wording to say more effectively what I believe the author wanted it to mean. I call this line editing and it is done best with Microsoft Word and Track Changes, which can be accepted or denied. The price for copy editing books, if at fixed rates, generally ranges from 3 cents to 4 cents per word (or $30 to $40 per 1,000 words). The 5th National Survey of Editors (2010) showed $71 an hour as average in Queensland for copy editing. My rates are slightly…