I’m vexed today. I just discovered a pretty cool book online. I like it. I wrote a 5 star review. It has an ugly cover, and mine is the 2nd review, and it was published 2 years ago. Then I looked over some of my other reviews for books I’ve liked – indie books without a big following, that I …

A common piece of advice for indie authors that I hear repeated strenuously is this: “DON’T make your own book cover in Microsoft Word!” Why? Because it’s almost certain to be ugly. But the reason that authors even attempt it, is because Word is probably a program they already know how to use and have installed. A serious graphics software …

Sometimes the cover design process focuses too much on what looks good and feels right – this is especially true for indie authors who want to represent their story with accuracy. But try not to forget, the cover has ONE job – to sell the book. It’s the packaging. It’s the glossy picture of a Big Mac that doesn’t really …

Recently I’ve been building several author websites, or helping authors tweak their WordPress blogs. Consistently I learn that they have no set plan in place, aren’t sure how to organize things, what to have on the pages or what to write about (which is fine – that’s where I come in). But for those of you who want to set …

Recently I spent a few months in Mexico, culminating in a week-long stay at the all-inclusive resort, Sandos Cancun. Part of our package deal was a mandatory time-share presentation for Royal Elite, which filled me with dread. I went in convinced I wouldn’t be sucked in, but left having spent $6000 on lots of timeshare weeks. Initially I was optimistic. …

I’ve seen versions of this debate raging around the internet for several years. The short version goes like this: 1) Lightning source produces better quality books 2) Lightning source offers more professionalism and the right kind of discounts therefore 3) Even though it’s more expensive and a pain in the ass, you should go with LS instead of Createspace because …

One of the most powerful ways to promote your book is to offer it for free for a limited time. Why? You need to remove all resistance separating your book from your readers – including a price tag. Not forever, but enough to get a ton of downloads and some thoughtful reviews, which will help sell the book. But here’s …

I’m in Paphos, Cyprus, sitting in the bar downstairs of my hotel drinking a Mojito and listening to a trance remix of “Ain’t no mountain high enough.” I had a Greek Gyro for dinner, a welcome change after nearly 3 weeks of Turkish food. Yesterday we traveled from Sanliurfa to Northern Cyprus, spent the night on the Turkish side before …

  Recently a lot of my creative friends have been raving about “The War of Art” – a little manifesto about art, creativity and creative production by Steven Pressfield.  It’s an inspirational book that’s popularity is based on the fact that it tells would be authors and artists the New Age message that creatives have embraced for the past hundred …

I spent today making new business cards for Creativindie. I love making business cards. I’ve made dozens of sets of business cards for all my little projects, websites and books. Business cards are handy to give out to people when you’re casually talking about stuff, or new people you meet, and they can even serve as mini-adverts or posters if …