Jennifer Lancaster

February 25, 2022

Starting a Blog from Scratch

If you want to know how to start a blog from scratch and build up so your books can become well-known, then start with a strategic plan. It will help a lot over the coming months and years. Here are some lessons I learned, along with some thought leaders’ lessons, like Ali Abdaal, who is more on the YouTube side of things. RESEARCH STAGE Start with a mindset of giving and dig into why you want to start this blog. You’ll find a selfish reason first no doubt, then ask why is that important? What will it achieve for others? Do you have a once-burnt story to share that will help them? Can you inspire through your openness? 2. Research your ideal readership. Use value-priced tools like Ubersuggest (not just for SEO), AnswerthePublic.com, and ask similar people on Twitter or…

May 3, 2025

Self-Publishing

How Much Does Publishing a Book Cost?

Here we’re mainly talking about costs of self-publishing a print book within Australia. Usually, an eBook-only publication can be done with only editing and minor ebook cover design costs. Read all of this article before going to Amazon or IngramSpark with your final file, so you can set yourself up for success. How much does it cost to self-publish a book on Amazon? Amazon KDP is the leading self-publishing platform, and it is free to publish a book there. But wait. Publishing your book to Amazon, IngramSpark or Blurb is the final step in the print-on-demand publishing process. First there are other cost considerations to do with getting your new book ready to be published. Although the cost to publish on Amazon is zero, and $65 or so to publish at IngramSpark, you shouldn’t publish your book ‘raw’. To self-publish your book with quality…

January 12, 2022

Self-Publishing, Updates

Does your writing benefit Australia? Arts Grants explained

Many a time we wish for money to help push our creative work forward. But did you know if you make your plan grander, for the betterment of Australia, you can access cash arts grants! Arts Grants: what are they for? An arts project funded by the Australian Arts Council has to benefit Australia in a cultural or other diverse way. You must be a citizen or permanent resident, and you have to already be an ‘arts worker’ – i.e. book writer. (Not a never published one). For example, say, a book writing project on Australian history of white man’s invasion will be beneficial to culture. This would be a high priority arts project and could potentially be granted. These types of activities can be funded: professional skills development, including mentoring and residencies (book writing mentoring included)the creation of new…

January 6, 2022

Book Editing, Personal Branding

Understanding the Editor’s Terminology

Do you ever get the feeling people aren’t quite getting you? Recently I thought while editing my videos that people may not understand me and my editors’ terminology. So here I’m going to explain the editorial terms I often say, some Jenacisms… and touch on what platform and branding is about. When I speak about typesetting, I don’t mean physically setting the type, but it is a word to mean ‘formatting and layout of a book’, and these have rules. Designing the book means use of creativity and choosing two typefaces that complement each other and create a mood for the book. When I speak about InDesign, I don’t mean designing in something, I mean the page layout program from Adobe. I am a fan, even though it is a very intense program. Artwork is not the design, it is…

June 12, 2026

Personal finance and scams

Another Kindle Publishing Income course: Bogus Claims 2025

Dear readers, I partook in a webinar for Kindle Publishing Income, where an English lady called Sophie Howard told people about some fluffy white clouds on Amazon. All so they would be excited enough to part with a lot of money (USD 2,495 for the course and coaching sessions program). My aim here is not to offer a course review, but merely to point out that ludicrous claims are still being made by advertisers about selling books via Amazon KDP. The eBook publishing industry is quite mature and does not represent a “wild, wild West” situation. Claim #1: You can Make BIG income from Kindle, mostly Passively EVERY month. I was amused at her ‘hidden’ images while proving the revenue spend of her own eBook titles. Going to Amazon myself, I checked out the numbers via Kindlepreneur’s rough “sales rank…

ways to use email marketing for publishers

February 3, 2023

Book Marketing, Selling eBooks and Media

Ways to use Email Marketing – for Publishers

With a focus on those publishing multiple ebooks or books, here are my top tips for using email marketing to engage readers. I’ve heard from several authors that they don’t enjoy receiving emails so don’t send many, only one every few months. But the sending of regular information is critical to building up a happy list of readers, so don’t be shy… just mix it up! 1. Always use an Email Marketing System that’s Easy Email marketing can easily get out of control with a manual system, like Outlook. To comply with anti-spam laws, unsubscribing must be easy. It is also useful to see open rates, click-through rates, and determine which content is the best performing. With most businesses choosing Mailchimp, a valid choice, my email marketing system is GetResponse – as it is just the most user-friendly and powerful…