Whether you’re looking to write to market or are scouring manuscript submissions for your next acquisition, knowing what tropes appeal to readers can help inform your decision. We see different trends in different categories. And studying these publishing trends, especially … [Read more...]
Self-Publishing Tips
Looking for publishing tips? Self-publishing a book can be a complex process — from finalizing edits to designing a cover to deciding what distributors to use. Here are a few of our top posts offering information on the self-publishing process:
Writing Process Tips: How to Juggle Several Books in Progress
So, real talk. I write four books a year — more or less — plus half a dozen short stories and pitches for new projects. That’s not counting travel, events, and promoting new releases. Up until 8 years ago, I held on to a full-time, high-pressure day job, too. Sounds … [Read more...]
12 Common Writing Mistakes Even Bestselling Authors Make
Have you ever bought a New York Times bestseller and found a typo or a glaring mistake? It’s happened to most of us. Writing mistakes can detract from the overall impression of quality readers expect of a published book. This can lead to negative reviews and low ratings, … [Read more...]
How to Write a Good Hook & Start Your Novel with a Bang!
Whenever people ask me what the most difficult part of writing a book is — the beginning, middle, or end — I usually say, “All of it.” Each section of a novel comes with its own set of challenges: Middles are hard to plot, ends need to be satisfying (and in my novels, they … [Read more...]
5 Ways a Professional Cover Design Can Boost Book Sales
One of the biggest fallacies still held by some in the publishing world is that cover design doesn’t really matter. In other words, a great book will still thrive even if it has a terrible cover. But in the absence of overwhelming word of mouth or a gangbusters publicity … [Read more...]
5 Ways a Book Cover Could Hurt Sales — And How to Fix It
Before launching Sterling & Stone in 2011, we were a trio of indie authors, and our early years were filled with missteps. We wrote furiously, churning out more than 2 million words per year. All those drafts needed to be made into books, but at the start we only had so … [Read more...]
Should You Make a Book Available for Preorder? 14 Authors Weigh In.
Preorders are a significant part of many authors’ and publishers’ new release marketing plans, but there are several different strategies for using preorders to boost sales for a new book. We talked to 14 self-published authors to learn how they approach preorders for their … [Read more...]
How Hiring an Author Assistant Can Boost Book Sales
An author is the CEO of their own business. However, they’re also creating the product, performing quality control, marketing, doing accounting — the list goes on and on. It can be overwhelming to wear so many hats, which is where hiring an author assistant can help — … [Read more...]
85 Holiday-Themed Book Covers We Love
’Tis the season to cozy up with a good book! If you’re promoting a holiday-themed book, a festive book cover can help attract your target audience. In general, holiday-themed covers include a lot of wreaths, decorated trees, festive lights, snow-covered landscapes, and … [Read more...]
Self-Publishing Your NaNoWriMo Book? Don’t Miss These Steps!
It’s National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)! If you’re participating and decide to self-publish your NaNoWriMo work rather than seek traditional publication, there’s one important thing to remember: Your completed NaNoWriMo book is most likely not ready for readers. A … [Read more...]
