It’s all over! I’m going to list the contest results and winners here. Incidentally, these were the most popular items, and how many people entered to win: Book lamps (1363) Book pillows (1358) Antique typewriter (1623) Tea pot (1476) So if you’re looking for good gifts for writers, those are safe bets. I added in some links below in case …

Tomorrow there are a couple of events going on. My mom has a local craft fair in Tigard. There’s also an indie author meetup in Portland, but few people have signed up to attend (at least on Facebook). Then there’s the “Crafty Wonderland” – a massive arts and crafts show in Portland. If you’re involved in an event, even if you’re …

Firstly, let me say I don’t always do a “year in review” post because I’m inconsistent, and I don’t think many people would read or care. I should also tell you I have no idea what I’m doing, am very much a beginner at this game of online blogging, making money on the internet, or making money from book sales. …

I noticed something interesting in the book store last night. I’m pretty familiar with YA books, because that’s my genre and I stalk them on Amazon. So I know which ones have hundreds of 5 star reviews and which ones have under 100 reviews and a four star average. I’d been assuming that most people buy their books online, which …

This is a guest post from Jenetta Penner, who is waaaaay better at Pinterest than I am. I’m starting to use it more and asked for some help. This is her advice, and I’m sharing it with you. In the past three years, my niche blog has received almost 7 million page views from Pinterest alone. My top post has …

This is the cleverest book cover / marketing / design I’ve seen in a long time. Somehow it’s a moving video/gif of the book cover, with two moving balls in the maze. How amazing would it be to have the scene of your book cover be a “movie” that actually moves, where pictures could dance or swim, faces could smile. …

I want to give a shout out to a couple examples of great content marketing for authors I’ve seen recently. Check this out by YA author Jenetta Penner: Best YA books based on fairy tales. It’s just a list of bestselling books in her genre; and comes with a great image (probably made on Canva.com) which makes it more appealing. The image …

UPDATE: I wrote a long post with best stock photos for book cover design HERE. This video was just to show you how to browse Google for “similar” images, and also checking to make sure that nobody else is already using them for a cover. It’s a great way to find new images, get book cover ideas, and check to …

This is something I’m going to start working on, but don’t do well yet. Basically, Facebook controls who sees your content. Even if you have a lot of followers, they aren’t seeing your stuff. You can increase the visibility you get based on engagement – if people comment, like or share your posts, Facebook will automatically share your content with …

  If you’re interested in publishing or self-publishing a book, you’ve probably got a lot of questions. There are so many tools, resources and services offering tips and information. How does it all work? How do you put a book together, get it out into the world, and get people to buy it? You might have questions like… How do …