BLOG

Whether you are an aspiring author, a published author, a publisher or one who provides services to those who publish, the purpose of this SLPA Blog is to provide information and resources on a full range of author/publishers issues and ideas.
  • Wednesday, April 05, 2017 12:05 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Pinterest is especially popular with women, so if your book's audience is mostly women, think about using Pinterest to attract them. You can do this with a friendly personal account or as a strictly business account. Joel Friedman features an excellent article by Frances Caballo - who includes examples! Remember, images are important whether you use Pinterest or not.

    From Fun to Serious: How I Use Pinterest Now



  • Wednesday, March 08, 2017 9:54 AM | Deleted user

    The internet provides an overabundance of information — good, bad, and utterly useless — on just about every topic, and publishing advice is no exception. There are endless options for successful publishing, and the best strategies are often unique to each author’s needs and desires. As a publishing consultant, I frequently find myself trying to help authors find out what they need and want before I can give them what they really came for — recommendations.

    So in the interest of helping you save some time, here are a few of my most recommended resources.

    First and foremost, check out the St. Louis Publishers Association’s website, blog, and social media (stlouispublishers.org). Every month, we host informative and helpful speakers who provide their expertise and answers to our attending members. Additionally, we make useful posts on our blog and social media sites and feature educational and illustrative articles in our monthly newsletter (stlouispublishers.org/monthly_newsletters) as well as our Resources page (stlouispublishers.org/page-1263724).

    If you know you want to write a book but haven’t started yet, check out Dan Poynter and Danny O. Snow’s “7 Action Items to Take Before You Begin Writing Your Book” at book1blog.com/2014/03/7-action-items-to-take-before-you-begin-writing-your-book.html.

    On writing:

    If you’re looking for inspiration, like a writing prompt, or just some new words to learn and use, simply Google “word of the day” to find one of the countless webpages dedicated to that; also, check out the Writer’s Digest Creative Writing Prompts (writersdigest.com/prompts), ThinkWritten: 365 Creative Writing Prompts (thinkwritten.com/365-creative-writing-prompts), and Storymatic (thestorymatic.com). (The first two are free, the last one is not.)

    And if you want some tips to improve your writing, see Elmore Leonard’s, “10 Rules for Good Writing” (writingclasses.com/toolbox/tips-masters/elmore-leonard-10-rules-for-good-writing) and Johnny Lists’s, “12 Useful Websites to Improve Your Writing” (johnnylists.com/12-useful-websites-to-improve-your-writing).

    On publishing:

    Four of the most important resources I can recommend are Judith “The Book Shepherd” Briles (thebookshepherd.com), who has a very useful blog, many helpful books, and also hosts a free teleconference every Monday at 11am Central to answer questions from authors; Jane Freidman’s Key Book Publishing Paths chart (janefriedman.com/key-book-publishing-path); Kimberly Rae’s Write with Purpose article “Finished a New Book? The 10-Step Process from ‘Done’ to ‘Published’” (kimberlyraewriting.blogspot.com/2013/08/finished-new-book-10-step-process-from.html); and Noah Lukeman’s Ask a Literary Agent (askaliteraryagent.blogspot.com). Unfortunately, Ask a Literary Agent hasn’t been updated since 2014 and therefore is at risk of becoming a little more outdated every day, but things aren’t changing so fast that the advice is even close to bad yet. (And on a side note, Judith Briles will be speaking for the SLPA in a special workshop on July 22!)

    About publishing books and uploading files through Amazon / CreateSpace / Kindle Direct, the most direct source of how-to information is Amazon’s own Kindle Direct Publishing help knowledge base at kdp.amazon.com/help.

    On marketing:

    Head over to Shawn Manaher’s Book Marketing Tools website at bookmarketingtools.com/free-checklist-guide and download the handy (and free) 20-page guide “The Ultimate Author Checklist for Online Book Marketing.” Also check out BookBub’s “Ultimate Collection of Book Marketing Examples” (insights.bookbub.com/download-the-ultimate-collection-of-book-marketing-examples), Tim Grahl’s “Book Marketing: The Definitive Checklist” (booklaunch.com/book-marketing-checklist), the Smashwords Book Marketing Guide (smashwords.com/books/view/305), and Phil Bolsta’s nearly endless “How to Promote Your Book Like a Pro!” blog post (bolstablog.wordpress.com/2013/09/04/promote-your-book). All of these marketing resources are free. If you’re looking for something to spend money on, Tim Grahl’s Your First 1000 Copies: The Step-by-Step Guide to Marketing Your Book is one of the most widely recommended books in the industry.

    And finally, a shameless plug: I strongly encourage authors to ask questions on my blog at Editwright.com, where I do my best to be a useful resource for authors and will happily answer any questions I can.

    Andrew Doty is the Editorial Director of the St. Louis Publishers Association, as well as the Editor-in-Chief of punctum books, the owner of Editwright, and a freelance developmental editor and publishing consultant.


  • Monday, January 23, 2017 10:22 PM | Anonymous member
    I recently read a friends Facebook post about selling 3,000 ebooks in one month and achieving a recorded 1,075,000 Kindle Normalized pages read, I had to ask what is the strategy?

    KenFarmer kindly shared the strategy used to market and build an audience:

    EBooks Sold in One Month – 3,000


  • Monday, January 09, 2017 9:30 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Happy New Year! Hope you have a writing, publishing, or marketing goal to strive for. Jane Friedman gives an overview of the publishing world during 2016. Maybe we're not so surprised...

    Looking back at 2016: Important publishing developments authors should know

    (Nabbed from the latest newsletter from Katherine Pickett, editor and former St. Louisan and SLPA board member)

  • Wednesday, November 16, 2016 1:41 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    November is NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month. What you accomplish is a first draft, not a publishable manuscript. Now what?

    Jane Friedman explains what to do after the first draft


  • Wednesday, October 26, 2016 12:17 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Where did you get that photo for your book cover? Business lawyer Helen Sedgewick, author of the Self-Publisher Legal Handbook, runs a website-blog of articles on legalities concerning self publishing. In this article, read how you can legally use photos of identifiable people:

    How to Use Images of Real People Without Violating Privacy and Publicity Rights

    Note: Nowadays you must also be careful of commercial use of photos taken in parks and gardens with identifiable features. Check the location's website for rules on photography.

  • Thursday, September 22, 2016 1:29 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Luck has only a little bit to do with success. At our October SLPA meeting Kim Wolterman will discuss the value of creating a business plan to help put your book on the road to success, whether you write fiction or nonfiction.

    Allison Muruska via "A Writer's Path" says don't give luck too much credit.

    Writers Can Help Themselves Get Lucky  


  • Sunday, August 14, 2016 10:55 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    "Like it or not, you are a brand." Joanna Penn tells a Tale of Two Author Brands

  • Wednesday, August 03, 2016 5:10 PM | Anonymous member

    Author Vendors & Service Providers Marketplace

    Wednesday August 10, 2016 – 6:30 - 8:30pm

    Richmond Heights Community Center

     

    Meet the Publishers at the Annual Vendor Showcase

     

    Smoking Gun Publishing – Claire Applewhite

    Smoking Gun Publishing brings you the best in adult fiction. We specialize in mystery, suspense and thrillers, however, we accept mainstream, romance and women's fiction. If you have a great story, we'd like to publish it!

    Claire Applewhite is a graduate of St. Louis University.  She has served as President of the Missouri Writers Guild, as a board member of the Midwest Chapter, Mystery Writers of America, the St. Louis Metropolitan Press Club, St. Louis Writers Guild and Sisters in Crime, and is a member of the Ozark Writers League and Mystery Writers of America. An award winning mystery and suspense author, Claire is an adjunct professor at the University of Missouri, St. Louis.

     

    Bluebird Publishing – Dan Thompson

    What if you could work with a company that understands publishing, promotion and sales? A company that partners with you, supports you throughout the process of producing and marketing your book, and shares your success?

    Bluebird Publishing is a St. Louis company that combines the talents and experience of owner Dan Thompson, former partner and now senior consultant Jeff Fister, and a team of editorial and design experts. Dan — who has been in the retail distribution business and in books and music for 30 years — understands how to produce a professional book and get it in the right hands.

     

    Mission Possible Press – Jo Lena Johnson

    Books that improve the human condition, solve problems and help people are what we are all about!

    Our books involve relief, support, guidance, wisdom, enrichment and new experiences for the reader. Our categories include Children’s Books, Fiction books in the Student Author Series, Business and Professional Development and Leadership / Inspirational Books.

    If you have been struggling to write your book, Jo Lena can help you craft your words, message and legacy through book writing consulting services. These services are offered separately or inclusively of publishing services.


    Pen & Publish - Jennifer Geist

    Pen & Publish, Inc. started as a small press dedicated to publishing work by or for schools and nonprofits in 2005. In addition to adding traditional imprints, we now also offer custom publishing services to authors, small presses, and organizations.

    Our Imprints

    Open Books Press publishes nonfiction for adults and fiction for all ages, and Transformation Media Books publishes work in the body, mind, and spirit genres. Brick Mantel Books, added in 2015, is dedicated to publishing quality literary fiction and poetry.

     

     

  • Saturday, July 23, 2016 2:05 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Do you have a website and blog? Websites are important, but blogs provide fresh content to attract the Google "spider" so your website will rank higher in keyword (subject matter) searches. From the Alliance of Independent Authors, here's some advice on how to write a blog post that will attract attention:

     

    Five Blogging Tips for Indie Authors

     

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