How to Create a PR Plan for Your Self-Published Book
Book Publicists Spill Their Secrets Many self-published authors have found out only too late that having a PR plan in place before you release your book dramatically increases its chance of success. So how can...
Creative Book Marketing Tips from 11 Self-Published Authors
Self-publishing is a rewarding, empowering experience, and a great way to get your message out there to a (potentially) limitless audience. When done correctly, self-publishing can be a way to grow your...
The Language Exchange Community: An Ode to Livemocha
What is one thing that unites the human species — aside from the internet? It’s language. As human beings, we use words to express thoughts and evoke emotion. And when you have a language learning platform...
Award-winning, Self-published Author Gisela Hausmann on Book Marketing
It’s January 1st, and I’d like to wish a happy New Year to all readers of this blog (and happy birthday to me). Let’s start off the year strong by getting our book marketing in check, with advice courtesy of...
Lauren Juliff: The Woman Who Traveled the World and Wrote a Book About It
As an overall memoir-junkie and the author of a travel memoir myself, I love to read about other people’s travel experiences—I’ve been obsessed with them since I read Eat, Pray, Love as a college student. But...
“Race Traitor” Author Elisa Hategan Talks Government Conspiracies, Forgiveness, and Her Next Memoir
I first found Race Traitor by local author Elisa Hategan when I was searching on Amazon for new memoirs to read on my Kindle. Here’s what another reader had to say about her book: “…It is all at once an...
On Vanity Presses, True Self-Publishing, and One Author’s Tenacity
In the article “Meet Douglas Gardham, the hardest-working Canadian novelist you’ve never heard of,” Globe and Mail Books Editor Mark Medley features a Canadian author who has travelled every weekend for the...
Avoid These Publishing Rip-Offs
Publishing is a risky business. Whether you opt for self-publishing or score a deal with a Big Five publisher, there is no guarantee that you will win lots of sales in the end. In an industry where going it...
Bethany Chase on Finding Her Writing Style, Her Agent, and the Authors Who Inspire Her
I had the pleasure of coming across Bethany Chase’s debut women’s fiction, The One that Got Away , a couple of months ago when I was looking for a de-stresser. I saw her book on the shelf with an Emily Giffin...
Author April Klasen: How Thinking Like A Reader Transformed My Marketing
Today’s post features self-published author (and savvy book marketer) April Klasen . Over to you, April! Marketing when you self-publish is a bitch. You have a good story wearing a nice cover and it’s...
How to Market Your Self-Published Book without a Budget or Audience (Yet)
When I first began my book publishing journey, even writing a book seemed like such a lofty goal. But publishing, and then marketing it on my own? An insurmountable feat. Once I had finished penning I Am the...
My Personal “Reverse Resume” of Failures
I read an article a couple of days ago about a Princeton psychology professor named Johannes Haushofer who created a “reverse resume,” complete with programs he did not get into, scholarships he did not get,...
New Book + Life Lessons After A Hiatus
It’s been a while since my last post. I had to take a temporary hiatus from the blogosphere because a lot has happened in the past few months. The beginning of this year has been a hectic time for me. I have...
Why I Don’t Work for “Exposure” as a Copywriter
A few days ago, I received a call from a prospective client asking me what I would charge to write some short, industry-related posts for his blog. When I gave him a quote, he balked and said he couldn’t...
5 Counterintuitive Tips to Improve Your Writing in Business and Beyond
In my writing career, I’ve learned that sometimes drafting a good piece involves disregarding everything you thought you knew about writing. Writers’ clichés such as “write what you know,” and “it isn’t what...
Cover Letters: A Necessary Evil?
Last weekend, I read #GIRLBOSS by Sophia Amoruso, founder of the popular retailer Nasty Gal, which sells clothing, swimwear, shoes, and vintage. #GIRLBOSS is Sophia’s rags-to-riches memoir/manifesto on female...
5 Things All Authors Must Know About Book Publishing in the Digital Age
I always knew that the book world was a tough one, but it is one that I’ve immersed myself in since I was a girl. I loved escaping into a good book. I always knew that I was going to be a writer. I didn’t know...
The Impact of an Editor: Maxim Example
Because we work behind the scenes, a lot of people don’t realize exactly how much of a difference an editor can make. Last year, Maxim switched editors, hiring their very first female editor-in-chief, Kate...
Menstrual Misspellings
For reasons I will never fully understand, nothing makes the general public quite as uncomfortable as a woman’s monthly cycle. Any discussion related to the most natural thing in the world that affects 50% of...
Does Proper English Really Matter?
It drove me nuts that my local gym had a complete disregard for grammar, spelling, and punctuation. The most irritating signs involved the inappropriate use of quotation marks, and, worst of all, these were...
Food for Thought: Language vs. Eating Habits
As a vegetarian and a writer, I’ve spent my fair share of time wondering about how language impacts the ways we view certain food items. Some food choices (particularly meat dishes) are normalized by our...
“Girl,” “Woman,” or Neither?
As a female business owner, the issue of sexism in the business world is one that, unfortunately, I can definitely relate to. It is infantilizing to calling a woman a “girl” when men are so rarely referred to...