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How to cancel or postpone a KDP preorder deadline without penalty

How to cancel or postpone a KDP preorder deadline without penalty

I’ve had to push my preorder deadline multiple times; usually incurring a blanket account ban for 1 year. The first time or two, if you ask nicely, they might forgive you. But only if you can make a big fuss about it. But finally, they’ve allowed you to push your preorder back 30 days without The 3 secrets to book marketing, and...

January 30, 2022 Derek Murphy marketing, self-publishing 840
Is your book good enough to publish? Find out now (free checklist)

Is your book good enough to publish? Find out now (free checklist)

This is the preface to my revised book marketing guide, download the free PDF. Publish a book with recognizable value… When authors ask me about innovative ways to market their books, I usually tell them to focus on the basics: make sure their book is good, and it’s something people want to read. Make sure it’s The 3 secrets to book...

January 29, 2022 Derek Murphy marketing, productivity, self-publishing 364
The complete guide to book marketing for authors (3 simple steps to a bestseller launch)

The complete guide to book marketing for authors (3 simple steps to a bestseller launch)

This is the preface to my revised book marketing guide, download the free PDF. If you’re reading this, I’m going to assume you have or will soon have a book out on the market, and are exploring ways to turn it into a best-selling powerhouse that will slaughter the competition and pay for your retirement. The The 3 secrets to book...

January 29, 2022 Derek Murphy marketing, self-publishing 310
Don’t advertise your book until you read this (Facebook and Amazon ads for authors)

Don’t advertise your book until you read this (Facebook and Amazon ads for authors)

Should you advertise your book? Probably not. I’ve never been a big supporter of running ads to my books because: A) It’s easy to spend lots of money without seeing results. B) I didn’t think it would work on stand-alone novels. Most of the people making serious money with ads have a completed series – The 3 secrets...

January 17, 2022 Derek Murphy marketing, self-publishing 427
7 steps to a great query letter

7 steps to a great query letter

Query letters seem like they should be easy, right? After writing a script of several thousand to a hundred thousand words, writing a one-page email should be cake. So why do so many people have problems with it? It’s because they don’t really understand the purpose of a query letter. A query letter is not The 3 secrets to book marketing...

December 19, 2021 Russell Nohelty author, books, marketing, query, sales 27
Medium for Authors (sell books and make money)

Medium for Authors (sell books and make money)

Real quick: Medium is a side-project by Twitter CEO that’s mostly unmonetized but gets a crazy amount of traffic; making it one of the biggest content sites on the internet. You *can* get paid by views under certain conditions and *some* writers are making real money ($1000~$10,000 a month) but it’s not easy to do The 3 secrets...

April 30, 2021 Derek Murphy marketing, writing tips 238
Best editing software to proofread your book (ProWritingAid vs Grammarly for authors)

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...

May 17, 2019 Derek Murphy editing, marketing, proofreading 598
How to sell stuff online when you hate talking to people (adventures in introverted entrepreneurship)

How to sell stuff online when you hate talking to people (adventures in introverted entrepreneurship)

I didn’t start speaking until I was ready for full sentences. I don’t like making mistakes and hate being laughed at. Like most people, when I got into art or writing, I wanted my work to be “finished” before sharing it. Even though I’ve learned to share work earlier to get feedback before committing to...

April 7, 2018 Derek Murphy business, introvert, marketing, sales 468
The quick and easy guide to Facebook and Amazon (AMS) ads for authors

The quick and easy guide to Facebook and Amazon (AMS) ads for authors

Work in progress! Someone asked for a ‘quick and easy guide’ to Facebook advertising for authors, so I wrote this:   1. Use your hook/story for text. Test out 10 different hooks. Test out some with reviews. Make sure you mention the genre clearly, but incite emotion. 2. Don’t use your cover, use a pretty The 3 secrets to...

March 5, 2018 Derek Murphy facebook, marketing 571
8 ways to make more sales at shows

8 ways to make more sales at shows

“I’m going to stop doing shows.” It’s a statement a lot of artists have thought, but more and more people I know are committed to stopping shelling out big money on shows when they aren’t even making table fees back. I used to hear rumblings about it once and a while, but I’ve heard it The 3 secrets to book marketing, and a haunted castle...

December 19, 2017 Russell Nohelty conventions, marketing, sales 15
How to write like JK Rowling and get your book in the world’s most beautiful bookstore

How to write like JK Rowling and get your book in the world’s most beautiful bookstore

  Porto and Harry Potter This month we’ve been travelling through Portugal, seeking out JK Rowling’s favorite writing spots for inspiration. Rowling started planning Harry Potter in Porto, and it’s easy to see the connection. The university students wear black capes, and Porto is home to the “most beautiful...

October 22, 2017 Derek Murphy marketing, writing tips 189
Can a good press release really help you sell a TON of books?

Can a good press release really help you sell a TON of books?

A few years ago I wrote a post about how authors can use press releases to actually sell books. But the main takeaway was that authors shouldn’t try and do a press release because most of the time, they haven’t actually done anything newsworthy. I’ve somewhat modified my position, because: doing a press release might The 3...

July 6, 2017 Derek Murphy marketing 254
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Book Writing & Publishing Tips from a Creativity Alchemist
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2023 predictions for authors about publishing (AI writing, chatGPT legal issues and copyright)
2023 predictions for authors about publishing (AI writing, chatGPT legal issues and copyright)
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Free social media templates for reviews, excerpts or book marketing
Free social media templates for reviews, excerpts or book marketing
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110 haikus about life, love, inspiration, passion and creativity
110 haikus about life, love, inspiration, passion and creativity
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Love poems (poetry examples that will make her swoon)
Love poems (poetry examples that will make her swoon)
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How to make a children's book in a weekend with AI... (and why you probably shouldn't)
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Free fiction writing template to help you outline your novel (Word, Scrivener, G-Docs, Plottr)
Free fiction writing template to help you outline your novel (Word, Scrivener, G-Docs, Plottr)
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Free novel outlining template for Google docs
Free novel outlining template for Google docs
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The 8 brilliant fonts you NEED to use in your book layout (with type combos & samples)
The 8 brilliant fonts you NEED to use in your book layout (with type combos & samples)
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300+ Fool-Proof Fonts to use for your Book Cover Design (an epic list of best fonts per genre)
300+ Fool-Proof Fonts to use for your Book Cover Design (an epic list of best fonts per genre)
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How to make a full print book cover in Microsoft Word for KDP, Lulu or IngramSpark
How to make a full print book cover in Microsoft Word for KDP, Lulu or IngramSpark
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The horrible hidden truth behind the Secret Life of Walter Mitty that’s keeping you from your dreams.
The horrible hidden truth behind the Secret Life of Walter Mitty that's keeping you from your dreams.
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How much does the average author earn publishing their book?
How much does the average author earn publishing their book?
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