Category: Guest Posts

Books on Audio: Let Your Audience Hear Your Characters Speak

Guest Post
by Rita Plush

How we love to hear stories. The human voice, its richness and intonations takes us into make believe worlds.

And I love that my book, Lily Steps Out, has stepped off the monitor screen and printed page into the listening world as an audio book. After all the work of writing (5 years) and getting Lily into print (tack on another 7), it was pure pleasure to hear my story told through my characters. And because I think my fellow Indie Authors will benefit from my experience, I’m spreading the word—or words as we writers are inclined to spread.

I learned about ACX—Audiobook Creation Exchange—owned by Amazon (isn’t everything?) from a fellow author who said the procedure of getting a print or eBook into a listening format was “pretty much painless” and she was right. This this is the gist of how I did it: Continue reading “Books on Audio: Let Your Audience Hear Your Characters Speak”

Do you have a global marketing strategy?

Guest Post
by Birgit Kluger

Do you have a global marketing strategy?

Are you a self published author? One of the pioneers testing the waters to see whether or not they will lead you to new, unknown worlds? Preferably worlds where treasures await you?

Well, I am one of them. Early in 2012 I published my first novel via Kindle Desktop Publishing. Ok, I was probably later than others, especially if looking at the US market, but in Germany self publishing had just taken off. And still is. Which leads me to the purpose of this post. Do you have a strategy? One that involves not only selling your books in the US or UK market where readers speak your own language but in foreign markets as well? Continue reading “Do you have a global marketing strategy?”

The Oddville Press: Showcase Your Talent

Guest post
by Lorraine Sears
Managing Editor
The Oddville Press

Ask almost any writer or artist what they find hardest about their profession and you might be surprised by the answer. It’s not the creativity, or even the preparation ahead of publishing. Moreover, it’s something that the intended audience won’t even consider for the hard work and commitment involved. I’m talking, of course, about marketing.

I’ve interviewed a number of authors and the occasional artist on my blog, and for most, the marketing aspect really pushes them outside their comfort zone. When it comes to selling their work, even writers represented by larger organisations such as publishing houses have to do there bit to drum up sales. The problem is, none of us are sales reps. That’s not where our passion lies.

There’s no denying the growing popularity of the e-book, which along with sites like CreateSpace and Lulu make it ever-easier for independent authors to get their work into the marketplace. But with so many authors and titles, it’s hard to stand out from the crowd.

You can blog, you can tweet and you can write it on Facebook. But what’s different about you from the thousands of others already out there, doing the same? Continue reading “The Oddville Press: Showcase Your Talent”

5 Steps to Building Your Most Successful Marketing Campaign Yet

Guest post
by Meg Baatz

As an indie author, you cannot succeed without a marketing campaign. At its core, marketing is nothing more than telling a story. It’s just applied in a different context. Here are the 5 steps you already use to captivate your readers that you can use to build your most successful campaign yet. Continue reading “5 Steps to Building Your Most Successful Marketing Campaign Yet”