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 The 3 secrets to...
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 – The 3...
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, The 3 secrets to book marketing, and a haunted castle tour...
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 The 3...
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, The 3...
“Follow your bliss.” That’s the mantra that led me through the first two thirds of my life. It seems unimpeachable. Life is to short too waste time doing something you don’t enjoy, so you need to tune into your passion. Find out what makes you happy, what excites you, and don’t do anything else. Forge The 3...
Zopim. There, I said it. Rather than making you wait till the very end of the post to reveal the powerful secret promised in the headline, I’ve given it to you in the beginning. What is it, you ask? Zopim is a chat-software you can install on your blog or website, and then link up The 3 secrets to book marketing, and a haunted castle...
I’m pretty good at setting big goals, but tonight I decided I better make a nice “Vision Board.” Basically, it’s a collage of the things you want out of life. The idea is you look at it everyday and “align” yourself with your goals, until they start coming true. Wanting to become a successful author The 3...
Recently I’ve been subscribing to a lot of email mailing lists. I look at the professional bloggers who seem to have their shit together, and I subscribe. I want to know what they’re doing, how they talk to their readers, and how they represent their brand. I pay attention, because I want to do it The 3 secrets to book marketing...
