8 Self-Publishing Companies for Authors

 

If you're looking for self-publishing companies, look  no further than these.

Since the arrival of the internet, publishing has been turned upside down.  Giving rise to a new breed of author, and thousands of talented writers who were once overlooked, now have the power to publish their work as they see fit, without the need if any middle men or agents.

See below the 8 best self-publishing companies to build your name as an author:

Xlibris

With a classic interface that will will help inspire confidence in any author.  Along with a ton of useful advice, testimonials, and author awards,  go hand-in-hand with professionalism, and attention to detail.  Try this self-publishing service for size.

70 Best Websites for Writers 2019

 

 

Over the past three years I've produced a list of the best of writing websites for writers, this year is no exception.

Check out this guide on starting a blog if you haven't created one already.

See below 1976write's best websites for 2019:

Writing

1. Writers Helping Writers

2. Write or Die

3. The Write Practice

4. Positive Writer

5. Goins Writer

6. Creative Revolt

7. Elna Cain

8. Freelance to Freedom

9. FundsforWriters

10. Make a Living Writing

11. Sagan Morrow

12. The Freelancer's Year

Why You Should Write Regularly

 

Blog post updated 25/08/2019

Writing regularly can seem impossible, especially when you're trying to cope with writer's block, and a everyday living.  It's a skill that requires developing and honing.

When you make writing a regular part of your life, it not only instills discipline, but also offers up some other important betterment's, such as:

1. Raising Your Level of Creativity

Your creativity will start to shine through after a couple of weeks.  Ideas will flow, and inspiration will start oozing out of your pores.  By simply exercising your creative muscles, you open the doors to endless possibilities.

7 Reasons Why You Should Give Your E-Book Away for Free

 

Every 90 days one of my eBooks is priced at $0 on Amazon, sounds crazy, here are my reasons for pricing my eBooks at zero:

7 Reasons Why You Should Give Your eBook Away for Free

1. New authors need as many eyeballs as possible reading their eBooks.

2. According to Amazon rankings there's no difference between a bought e-book or a free e-book. Either way the more people download it for free, the higher your book will be ranked.

3. New readers will recommend you to their friends and family.

4. More people reading your book, the more chance of a review.

5. A great way to promote your book, and inexpensive way to attract attention to your work.

6. Free isn't forever.

7. Think about what your future sales could be, just by giving your e-book for free.

Why It's Good to Take a Breather from Writing

 

On Writing

If you're like me and you love to write and want to write well, the thought of taking a break or time out, can seem pretty scary.  Especially if you're working on a big project.

Every time you sit down to write your thoughts need to be fresh.  When you start to feel lethargic or fed up then its time to take stock of your situation.

Check out these 3 reasons why taking a breather from your writing is so important:

1. Resist Burnout

Going straight from one writing task to the next will sicken you and eventually wear you down.  That feeling of  elation when you see how many projects you've completed, will soon start to bore you.  The enjoyment you have for writing will slowly start to disappear.  That's why you need to take time out to clear your mind.

How to Select the Right Price for Your Book

 

When you self-publish a book you have no printing costs, publishing fees, postage or packaging costs to worry about, this is all taken care of when you decide to publish your book through a platform such as Amazon.

So bearing all that in mind follow the 8 points below to help you decide on how you want to price your book.

 1. What is Your Objective as an Author?

A lot of writers see themselves as authorpreneur's, instead of  just authors, and expect a large return on their investment.  Their end game is to price their book like any other earnings based business.

Fiction authors want you to love their books, and tend to sell their books at a lower price, not minding the low rewards.

The third kind of author falls in between both of the above categories, who loves writing but wants their books to make money, and be loved by all. 

How to Design a Book Cover on Fotor

 

Never judge a book by its cover.

As the old adage goes, but book covers are a vital selling point for all authors wanting to grab the attention of future readers.

To do that you need an exciting book cover.Thankfully you can create awesome book covers with the help of online services such as Fotor, and  don't need to be a book designer to create the perfect book cover.

Take a look at 5 brilliant book cover design points that will spark your audiences imagination, and get your books into the hands of potential readers:

1. Plan Your Book Cover Design Around Your Chosen Genre

First things first, you need to understand which genre your book falls into, then start looking for some inspiration for your book cover.  Your book cover needs to stand out for all the right reasons, fiction or nonfiction, so look at other authors book designs, and embrace their chosen styles.  Your cover is there to entice your readers, and grab their attention from the outset.  So make your book cover count!

Distinctive Looks for Different Books

Every genre and sub-genre has a particular trend, for instance a nonfiction book is their to acquaint the reader with the subject matter, so the cover should get straight to the point.  This is done through strong colours and typography, instead of complex illustrations.

Fictional books have a more detailed cover with the use of illustrations, and a mix of media.  Usually they include elements of the story on the front cover to give the reader an idea of what to expect inside.

Be Inspired!

A good place to start is by looking at authors in the same genre as yours, get to  know the kind of covers that are out there, and start to piece together how your book cover is going to look.

2. Know Your Audience

Know what your readers want, what information or story do they want from your book?  Self-help  and sci-fi books have two totally different audiences.  Your book cover needs to reach the right one with the right visual and title.

Does Your Book Cover Need to Provoke Emotion With Your Audience?

If its fiction, I'm guessing it will, for example horror brings about terror, you may want to use darker colours, and dramatic shadows to set the tone for your horror fantasy.  Books that are written to make the reader feel calm and happy, such as romance novels, will use lighter pastel colours.  Colour is powerful, use it wisely!

3. Focus on a Particular Element of Your Book

A good place to start is by concentrating on one particular element of your main theme, and highlighting it.  This may be an image, photo, or font.  By creating a single element, this helps your readers to understand what the essence of your book is all about. Fotor have an abundance of templates to choose from, that cover lots of different genres, all completely customiseable.

Choosing the Right Photos and Images for Your Book Cover

It can be really difficult looking for graphics and photos, especially when they need to be high resolution.  After that you need the right fonts, borders or even extra illustrations.  Fortunately Fotor provide you with lots of different templates covering a multiple of genres, all customizable, to fit with your needs.

There are other places you can get free images, apart from Fotor, these include Pexels, Unsplash, Barnimages, and Pixabay.

4. The Design Hierarchy

The design hierarchy is the order that the information should be seen on your book cover, usually this is by size.  For instance, the title is the most striking bit of text on your book cover, and holds the most valuable information.  All other information like sub titles should be in a smaller font so that the two aren't confused.

So What Goes on Top?

Should the title be bigger than the authors name?  If your Stephen King or Shakespeare, then yes.

If you've created a series of books its important to know where these particular elements go.  You may choose to add them on your cover, or leave them out.

Make it Readable!

Choosing the correct font is paramount, making it clear and direct.  Fonts such as serif and san-serif are always safer options, because they look clean and clear, and can be read no matter what size they are.  Fonts such as script should be big and bold to make them more clear on the cover.

4 Tips to Convert Blog Traffic into Affiliate Sales

 

What You Need to Know About Affiliate Marketing

Every affiliate marketer wants enough traffic to sell their own products. However, the truth is having lots of traffic doesn't always translate to lots of affiliate sales.

What you need are customers interested in buying the products you sell.  You know there's something wrong somewhere if you have traffic, but no sales.

Discover 4 tips to convert blog traffic into affiliate sales:

1. Find the Right Kind of Customer

Interested visitors, and visitors just passing through are two very different kinds of traffic.  You need people who actually want to buy what you have to sell on your blog, whether its books, courses, or other products your promoting.

You can do this by understanding what your readers like, and writing blog posts that include keywords and information to draw them in.