In about an hour it will be 12:12, 12-12-12. With the end of the year looming, this seems like a good time to begin an annual evaluation process about the things you did right in 2012, and what you want to work on in 2013. Don’t put it off – there’s little time for reflection
For the last week I’ve been avoiding my work: the pressures and responsibilities and deadlines have been building up, and like a turtle I react by disappearing, into junk food and catching up on popular TV series. But today I’m catching up – starting with a fancy breakfast of icecream strawberry waffles at a nearby
Note: this post caused some very angry comments and discussions, but since the topic is so important and relevant to indie authors, I’m leaving it up. I hope – if any effect on them at all – that it helps the authors mentioned sell more books. Both authors have been remarkably patient, understanding and magnanimous.
I never wanted to grow up. And I was pretty certain I’d never have to. Not having a plan, following my dreams and desires, pursuing my goals with reckless abandon, refusing to “be practical” and “think about the future” – those were some of the things that made my life fun and exciting. “Follow Your
I’ve been meaning to learn ebook formatting and conversion for over 2 years. Sadly, every time I got started, the sheer enormity of the process scared me away. Multiple formats? Lots of Code and HTML? Yuck. But I’ve been giving the work away for too long, and I know it’s something I’m going to need
Today I’m honored to host an interview with an author who’s doing amazing things in art and literature. I met David Clarke while working on his book cover for Rare Traits, a fascinating novel that makes use of David’s interest in art history. Then I found out he’s in Tuscany studying art restoration. Wow –
A few years ago I was at a party. This was back in the days when I fire-danced (spun a staff with lighted kevlar ends) for fun and was involved in a small community with similar interests. At the party I girl I knew started talking to me about fire-dancing. She was a little tipsy,
Today I got an email message from the site Nurturing Creativity. It’s a beautiful site with a good message, and I support Denise’s main aim of nurturing creative entrepreneurs. But something about this message struck me wrong. Rather than an inspiration to artists, it’s a confirmation of some very bad messages about what art...
If you’re indie publishing, you probably can’t afford a photo shoot. Fortunately (or unfortunately), these days major publishing houses can’t either, which means everybody is using stock photography. Stock photos are royalty-free images you pay to download, that you can use for book cover designs or other projects. There are...
An author asked me today for advice about finding a book editor or proofreader. This is a big, serious, important question. Getting your book edited is not only necessary (although you can get around it… more on that below) but also very expensive. Editing and proofreading can easily be your biggest expense related to book
So I’ve just bought an information product to (hopefully) help me improve my ebook formatting skills. I’m a pretty liberal online buyer. I’ll buy something pretty quickly if it looks decent, has good reviews, and costs under $100. If it’ll save me 5 hours of work, it’s worth it. But on this particular website...
As a book cover designer, many times my clients question me on my choices for the size and height-width ratio of my book covers. And for good reason: there is no industry standard for ebook covers – Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Apple and Smashwords all recommend different things. Many indie authors recommend making a perfect,
