People often ask me if it’s worth crowdfunding your book to get the resources you need to publish. I generally say “no” – because Kickstarter won’t give you an audience, nor help you figure out how to package and position your book to appeal to them. Plus, first time authors drastically over-estimate how much it costs to publish, and I …
Read More »How to promote your book for free (without annoying your friends)
Today in my free book marketing group someone asked: I was wondering if there was any easy ways to somewhat promote a book for free other than trying to convince your friends on Facebook to tell their friends and anyone they know about your book. Since in my case that’s never seemed to work for me anyways. Unfortunately asking your friends …
Read More »How to publish a book in 2020 (what do to after you finish writing the rough draft)
Recently in my Guerrilla Publishing Facebook group a new member posted this: I have just finished the rough draft of my first book. Now what? I’m in the process of putting it in the computer and fixing spelling and sentence structure. I’ve been thinking about cover design but don’t know where to go or how to go about it. Also …
Read More »A FREE book marketing crash course for launching or reviving book sales
Yesterday I had a long Facebook conversation with an author who had previously done a strong physical book launch (hard book copies to influencers at events). After the launch, the sales dried up, because: 1. You can’t count on humans to do things 2. Physical book launches at events are expensive 3. No long-term, ONLINE platform for organic visibility 4. …
Read More »How to rekindle the passion for your creative pursuits
Passion is worthless. Joy is priceless. The last several weeks I’ve been staying in a castle. At night, I’d scramble up the steep ruins, my path lit only by the moon and the stars. Below I can see the thick pine tree hills and the warm glow of the cabin down the hill. I’d sit for hours, ruminating on my …
Read More »How do you write a memoir?
You’d think writing a book about your life would be easy. You’re just sharing the stories of your personal experiences, after all. This isn’t an epic fantasy novel where you’re inventing whole new worlds to write about. Writing a memoir is just about remembering what happened, and then writing it down. Easy, right? Wrong. As anyone who has tried knows, …
Read More »How to edit a book: the five stages of editing your novel needs
I made a short video series about my editing and revision process but never added it to my blog, so here it is: The 5 stages of self editing Once I’m done with a first rough draft, I go through a 5-step editing process to make sure my book is as good as it can be. Keep in mind, …
Read More »The best book cover designers for indie authors (that are massively undervalued)
Book cover design has changed a lot over the past few years, and I’ve seen a rise in high-quality covers for a much lower price than what was available in the past – however, some of the best designers aren’t well known, are booked out a year in advance, and only sell through Facebook (often a cover is bought minutes …
Read More »Why do smart people smoke? Tobacco, a brief history
This month I’m in Japan and I’ve taken up smoking the pipe. Partly, I enjoy the taste and the ritual. I’ve never gotten into smoking cigarettes and don’t plan to start. And while I understand smoking can be addictive, I’ve not experienced it yet. If you’ve followed Creativindie for awhile, you’ll know I’m a fan for marijuana for creativity and …
Read More »Best editing software to proofread your book (ProWritingAid vs Grammarly for authors)
The short version: Grammarly finds more typos and actual mistakes. In a full manuscript, it found 7 while ProWritingAid only caught 1. However, ProWritingAid sometimes catches things that Grammarly misses, and has very useful more advanced features that can help improve your writing by flagging slow passages, complex paragraphs, or repetition. I recommend using both before publishing. Grammarly | ProWritingAid Editing …
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