10 Tips for: Hiring a Book Formatter

Gill Fernley Your book is finally finished, and it’s been edited to within an inch of its life. But you’re not quite ready to publish yet. As well as a quality, genre-specific cover, you’re going to need to get your book formatted for every way you want to publish it: e-book, paperback print, large print, […]

10 Tips for: Crafting the Perfect Blurb

Gill Fernley When it comes to the back cover blurb, many authors think they have to summarize their entire ninety-thousand-word novel in just a few lines. But a successful blurb is not meant to be a summary of your novel. It’s a sales pitch to nudge people into buying it. It’s time to shift how […]

Everything You Need to Know about Running a Virtual Launch Party

Gill Fernley Launch parties aren’t just a fun way to celebrate your new book release; these events can also be a great way to gain new readers, grow your business, and boost your earnings. And they don’t always need a venue or complex setup. Authors can host virtual launch parties via a series of scheduled […]

Using AI images Legally: What You Need to Know

Note: The information provided here is not legal advice and should not be taken as such. It is meant for general education purposes only.  With the right prompts from a human, AI image generators, such as Midjourney (https://midjourney.com/), DALL-E 2 (https://openai.com/product/dall-e-2), and Stable Diffusion (https://stablediffusionweb.com/), can produce a wonderland of fantastical and beautiful works of […]

The Rights Stuff

Breaking Down the Complicated Lingo of Image Licensing Note: The information provided here is not legal advice and should not be taken as such. It is meant for general education purposes only. Furthermore, these definitions are always subject to change; be sure to do your research and consult legal professionals if you have specific questions. […]

Five Plotting Methods You Can Use in Your Daily Life

It’s a brand new year and, if you haven’t done it already, it’s a great time to make a plan for your author business. If you’re a plotter, you probably already know plenty of planning methods like the back of your heart for outlining your novel, from Save the Cat to the Snowflake Method. But […]

7 Steps to Your Perfect Five-Year Publishing Plan

It’s almost the end of another year and time once more for setting intentions for the future. But don’t reach for a soapbox about New Year’s resolutions or dust off your schemes for world domination just yet. However well you think these goals work in your personal life, the new year can also be the […]

#Unfiltered: What You Should Be Sharing with Readers on Social Media

What Authors Say Online Matters to Their Readers, So How Much Should You Be Sharing on Social Media? Being a writer never stops. If you’re not writing, you’re often thinking about it. If you’re not doing either, you’re likely to be looking at cover designs, formatting, talking to other authors—the list goes on. And that’s […]

10 Tips: Draft2Digital

Indie authors often consider the valid option of going wide and publishing on other platforms beyond Amazon. But with it comes a lot of work adapting your book formatting and spending time uploading to multiple platforms. At least, it used to. Draft2Digital is a self-publishing aggregator, allowing authors to publish a book automatically on multiple […]