Riley Adams's Blog, page 64
March 31, 2019
Why You Need a Tagline to Improve Your Author Platform
by Colleen M. Story, @colleen_m_story
When your readers come to your website, how long does it take them to figure out what kind of writing you do?
If it takes more than a few seconds, you may be losing readers, subscribers, and others who could be interested in your work.
According to research and consulting firm Nielsen Norman Group, users often leave web pages in 10-20 seconds. To gain user attention, you have to clearly communicate your value within 10 seconds.
That may seem a bit drastic, but if you think about it, you’ll find it rings true. Just take a few minutes to browse the Internet and discover how patient you are. You may be surprised at how quickly you move on if a site doesn’t hold your interest.
Fortunately, you can take full advantage of those 10 precious seconds with your potential readers by including one important thing on your website: a tagline.
Here’s why this can be so helpful to you and your readers.
Author Websites Without a Tagline Say Nothing to the Reader
To help you see just how much an author tagline can help, I tried an experiment. I encourage you to try it too the next time you’re online.
I took about 10 minutes to look up some random author sites, simply by choosing “author website” in a Google search. Then I spent no more than 10 seconds looking at each of them, and see if I could tell in that time what the writers wrote and what kind of reader they were targeting.
The first one I clicked on had the author name, and then the words, “Author, Blogger, Traveler.” That didn’t tell me much, and certainly didn’t help me to decide if I’d like this writer’s work or not.
The second one just had the author’s name and nothing else. The third had the author’s name, then the name of her book series, but since I hadn’t read the series, I still didn’t know what kind of writing she did.
The next one had the author’s name and then “the writer next door,” which again, didn’t give me any clues as to what kind of writing I could expect from this author. Several others had the writer’s name and “bestselling author” underneath—great, but again, giving me no clue if the author’s writing was something I might like. (By the way, this one is used a lot, so it doesn’t really set an author apart.) Several more simply said “official author website” under the name—again, not giving me any useful information.
After a bit of searching, however, I found some author websites that were much more helpful.
Author Websites with Effective Taglines
On my second search, I discovered four author websites that made it clear to me within that first 10 seconds what kind of writing they did.
On Jean C. Joachim’s site, I see “Stories from the Heart by Jean C. Joachim.” Already that’s more information than I was finding on many other sites. Underneath her name I find “USA Bestselling Author,” and then a graphic of hearts. So I’m guessing romance author, which is a start.
Danielle M. Haas has her name at the top of her site, then, “Love that Captures You, Danger that Lures You.” I love this tagline—it’s not only clear, it’s intriguing. It suggests romance with a bit of a mystery or criminal twist. With only that information, gleaned in two seconds, you can tell whether you might be interested in this writer’s work.
The graphic behind her name also looks like a lipstick smear, so I’m guessing the romance is primary. That’s great information all in 10 seconds or less.
Rene Regent also has a heart graphic under her name, and the tagline, “Love Grows in Unexpected Places,” giving me the idea she writes romance in exotic settings. I scroll down and see three of her book covers, which support that idea, and then the words, “Strong, protective heroes, feisty independent heroines.” Within 10 seconds, I’ve got a good idea what this author writes about—at least enough to decide if I want to read more.
Dani Pettrey has “up all night suspense” under her name, along with a rather spooky picture of a remote beach—letting me know right away the tone and genre of her books. I’m drawn in.
If you go look at these sites and compare them to others that don’t have taglines, you can see how quickly and effectively a tagline can convey information to the reader. Now the kicker—it took me quite a bit longer to find the second group of authors than the first. Most of the author websites I pulled up did not have a tagline, which seems a shame, when it’s such a simple thing that can add so much to your platforms and marketing efforts.
Make it Easy for Readers to Choose You
If you’re a celebrity author who’s already well known, you may not need a tagline, but as an indie author, freelance writer, or any other sort of writer trying to make at least some money from your work, it’s important to keep your customer—your reader—prominently in mind.
She’s a busy person, just like you. She doesn’t have much time to read, or to discover new authors, but she likes it when she finds one whose work speaks to her. You need to do everything you can to make it easy for her to choose you.
A tagline is a simple thing to add to your website, social media platforms, book swag, and business cards, yet it can add a lot of clarity to your marketing efforts.
As to how to create an author tagline, that’s another post, but meanwhile if you want to give it a try, focus first on your genre, then what’s unique about your writing. Try to make the tone reflective of your stories, but don’t get so clever you lose understanding.
Ten seconds. That’s all you’ve got to win a reader over. An author tagline can help you do that. It’s simple, and it works. Give it a try—you may find that it not only helps give your readers some clarity about what you do, but it can help you as the author get clear about it, too.
For more information on how to create not only an author tagline, but a mission statement, author business blueprint, and more, check out Colleen’s new book, Writer Get Noticed! Get your free chapter here.
Colleen M. Story inspires writers to overcome modern-day challenges and find creative fulfillment in their work. Her latest release, Writer Get Noticed!, is a strengths-based guide to help writers break the spell of invisibility and discover unique author platforms that will draw readers their way. With over 20 years in the creative industry, Colleen is the founder of Writing and Wellness (writingandwellness.com) and Writer CEO (writerceo.com). Please see her author website (colleenmstory.com) or follow her on Twitter (@colleen_m_story).
Source
Nielsen, J. (2012, September 12). How Long Do Users Stay on Web Pages? Retrieved from https://www.nngroup.com/articles/how-...
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March 30, 2019
Twitterific Writing Links
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
Twitterific writing links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 50,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.
Have you visited the WKB lately? Check out the new redesign where you can browse by category, and sign up for free writing articles, on topics you choose, delivered to your email inbox! Sign up for the Hiveword newsletter here.
Business / Miscellaneous
INFOGRAPHIC: The Surprising Reading Habits of Millennials: by Expert Editor
Conferences and Events / Miscellaneous
Neue Festival Literatur 2019: ‘Writers (Are) to Look at What Memories Mean in Their Work and…Careers’: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Creativity and Inspiration / First Novels
Quick Tips for New Writers on Getting Started: by Anna Davis @CBGBooks
Creativity and Inspiration / Goal setting
How and Why to Get Clear about Your Ultimate Career Goal: @WritersCoach
Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Quotes
“You Don’t Know Anything.” And Other Writing Advice from Toni Morrison: @knownemily @lithub
Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Reading as Writers
6 SFF Characters That Tend Towards Lawful Good: by Stubby the Rocket @tordotcom
8 Crime Novels Featuring Intense Female Friendship: @adeleparks @CrimeReads
8 Stories About How Your Family Can Mess You Up: by Mandeliene Smith @ElectricLit
Six Standalone Fantasy Novels that Stand Out: @ChristophGolden @timlebbon @tordotcom
Five Books That Deal with What Comes after World-Changing Shenanigans: @ek_johnston @tordotcom
How to Read More: @austinkleon
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Fitting in Writing
How to Create Your Self-Publishing Production Schedule: @laina_turner
How To Do Anything in 15 Minutes: @laina_turner
Creativity and Inspiration / Success
3 Author Success Essentials: @sandrabeckwith @JFbookman
Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Life
10 Specialty Bookstores That Are Definitely Worth a Visit: @knownemily @lithub
4 Ways to Waste Time (and How They Can Help Your Writing): @FinishedPages @womenonwriting
Should You Quit Your Current Writing Project? @PSHoffmanAuthor @WritersDigest
7 Ways to Write a Novel with Confidence: @Roz_Morris @IngramSpark
How to Tackle NaNoWriMo or Other Writing Sprints With Clinical Depression: by Andrea Tomé @NaNoWriMo
Writing Tips: Finding Your Perfect Niche In Fiction: by Edwin McRae @thecreativepenn
Four Ways to Protect Your Creative Brain: @besscozby @DIYMFA
Give Yourself Permission to Write: @lornafaith
Genres / Fantasy
7 Tips to Creating a Fantasy Army in Fiction: Add More Than Swords: @cyallowitz
Genres / Historical
Three Ways to Make The Historical Real: @KatiaRaina1
Genres / Horror
The 13 Best Women Writing Horror Today: @xymarla @LitReactor
Genres / Memoir
“Why I Was Finally Able to Write About My Husband”: by Judy Goldman @lithub
Memoir Writing: 7 Questions to Help you Get Past the Surface and Deepen Reflection: @writingthrulife
Genres / Miscellaneous
How important is genre? @valerie_francis @StoryGrid
Genres / Mystery
Crime fiction in which houses are characters, themselves: @mkinberg
Focusing in on Different Households in Mysteries: @mkinberg
Cozy Mystery Writing: Suspect Interviews:
Genres / Romance
What are the Romance Subgenres? (And How to Pick One): @ReedsyHQ
Genres / Science Fiction
Putting the Heart in Science Fiction: An Analysis of the Screenplay ‘Her’: @DustinGrinnell @WritersDigest
7 Sci-Fi Twitter Feeds to Follow: @melanippee
Promo / Blogging
Should authors have a blog? (Podcast): @timgrahl @valerie_francis
Promo / Book Reviews
Writing Better Book Reviews: by Wordy Nerd Bird
Promo / Connecting with Readers
How the “Ideal Reader” Myth Hurts Your Writing Process: @danasitar @thewritelife
Promo / Miscellaneous
Online Catalogs: Are They Worth the Money? @JohnDoppler
5 Tips To Spice Up Your Amazon Author Pages: @ChrysFey @thecreativepenn
4 Common Amazon Book Marketing Complaints Demystified: @Bookgal
Promo / Newsletters
How to announce your book with an email blast: @sandrabeckwith
Promo / Video
Using Video Marketing? Why It’s Important and 3 Apps to Try: @CaballoFrances
Publishing / Miscellaneous
Publishing Far and Wide to Sharpen Your Skills, Thicken Your Skin: @AlyConnerBrown
Unexpected Bestsellers: by Richard Charkin @pubperspectives
‘Feminist Fairy Tales’: Authors Talk About Writing ‘Other Kinds of Books’: @oliviasnaije @pubperspectives
Using Templates to Save Time:
Understanding Audiobook Production: @ktsetsi @RichMillerVO @JaneFriedman
Industry Notes: ‘The Mueller Report’ Already Is a ‘No. 1 Bestseller’ on Amazon: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Greenhill Books Commemorates the 75th Anniversary of the Real-Life ‘Great Escape’: @rogertagholm @pubperspectives
Publishing / News / International Publishing
European Parliament Votes in Favor of Controversial Copyright Directive: @Porter_Anderson @doctorow
Report: Spanish-Language Ebook and Audiobook Subscription Sales Grow: @Porter_Anderson @javiercelaya
Polish Legislation Could Equalize VAT on Ebooks and Print by June 1: @jaroslawadamows @pubperspectives
China Bestsellers for February: ‘Paid-For Content’ in the Chinese Market: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Frankfurt’s Juergen Boos on the International Perspective: ‘It’s Always Changing’: @Porter_Anderson @comm_cationista
In Québec: New Report Cites Uptick for Book Sales; Booksellers Debate Selling Backlist: @lukaesque @pubperspectives
Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing
Truths about Publishing You Can Only Learn in the Trenches: @msheatherwebb
Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing / Querying
8 Things To Do While You Wait After Querying: @RachelleGardner
Publishing / Process / Book Design
7 Tips for a Successful Relationship with Your Book Cover Designer: @ReedsyHQ
Publishing / Process / Distribution
2019 eBook Distribution Round-up: Aggregators Comparison Chart and FAQs: @Wogahn
Writing Craft / Characters / Development
7 Things Your Character Is Hiding: @KMWeiland
Character Creation in Literature — A Simple Principle: @Peter_Rey_
Writing Craft / Common Mistakes
Common writing mistakes and how to avoid them: @AuthorMarilene
Six Mistakes That Can Kill a Great Plot: by Oren Ashkenazi @mythcreants
Writing Craft / Dialogue
Spellcheck Cannot Save You! Writing Dialogue 101: @GramrgednAngel @BookWorksNYC
Writing Craft / Miscellaneous
Tips for Writing an Adopted Character: @VictoriaGHowell
Tips for Avoiding Reporter Syndrome: @ml_keller
7 Tips for Using Story Writing to Raise Awareness for a Cause: @_HannahHeath
12 Reasons You’re Not Getting Any Better at This Whole Writing Thing: @MegDowell
Look Forward, Not Backward, to Pull the Reader In: @SeptCFawkes
Parenting Advice, Elevator Pitches, and the Essential Heart of Story: @KAMcCleary @WriterUnboxed
Layering Is The Secret To Crafting A Stronger Plot: by Paige Duke @standoutbooks
Writing Craft / Pacing
Writing a Page-Turner: @valerie_francis @StoryGrid
How to Write a Real Page-Turner: @lwreyes
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Story Concept
Optimizing Your Story Ideas for Stronger Engagement: by Chris Winkle @mythcreants
Writing Craft / Punctuation and Grammar
The Plight of Grammar in Writing: @Douglewars
Writing Craft / Revision
4 Ways to Prevent Errors from Invading Your Books: @ZoeMMcCarthy
Writing Craft / Revisions / Critiques
How to Love (Not Hate) Critiques: @KelsieEngen
Sitting with Discomfort: Negotiating Difficult Critiques: @TashaSeegmiller
Writing Craft / Scenes
Writing Tips For Worthy Scene Sequels: @KMAllan_writer
Writing Craft / Series
How Writing a Series Boosts Your Author Career: @ZaraAltair @ProWritingAid
Why You Should Be Writing in a Series: by Tom Ashford @pbackwriter
Writing Craft / Word Crafting
Inconsistencies in Word Use: @nancyjcohen
26 Feel-Good Words:
Writing Tools / Resources
Productivity Apps for Writers: @AuthorMarilene
10 Literary Podcasts all Writers Should Listen To: @cleemckenzie
Uncategorized
An easy way to hear your writing aloud: @pubcoach
6 Top Tips to Build Writing Focus with Pavlov and Pomodoros: @derekralston
Ways to Beef Up Conflict & Mystery – First Page Critique: @JordanDane @killzoneauthors
The Top Writing Links From Last Week Are On Twitterific:
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March 28, 2019
Cozy Mystery Writing: Suspect Interviews
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
Suspect interviews aren’t quite as simple as they may seem. Something that may seem very straightforward for a police officer can be very different for a gifted amateur.
Here are some possible pitfalls and some workarounds for interviewing your cozy mystery suspects:
Why should anyone give an amateur sleuth information at all? Unlike a police interview where a suspect might feel compelled to answer questions, an interview with an amateur sleuth is more like a conversation gone wrong. Suddenly, the person the suspect is talking with becomes very nosy about uncomfortable events or something rather personal.
There are different ways to go about this. You could have your sleuth be someone especially likeable and easy to talk to…someone that people automatically open up to. You could have your sleuth be a professional snoop: maybe a journalist or a private investigator. Or you could go the route where your sleuth is discounted and underestimated by the suspect: Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple is an excellent example of this.
Hunting down suspects. Again, this is harder for an amateur. Police only have to knock on the suspect’s door and they have an interview. The sleuth can’t exactly do that (not without attracting a lot of attention to herself, anyway). It can be easier if the suspect has a known routine (always walks his dog at lunchtime, attends church every Sunday), works in a public place, or is out and about in town a lot (this only works if the sleuth is, too). If your cozy mystery employs a themed hook (cuisine, pets, quilting, etc.), then that can be a fun way to get suspects interviewed, too by centering the interviews around the theme. Maybe the murder happens at a quilt show or at a restaurant the sleuth owns.
Injecting variety. Wherever you interview your suspects, one pitfall is that these conversations can start running together if you’re not careful. They don’t all need to be at the local diner or the quilt show, etc. Think about other settings and other ways to pull the suspects in. One natural spot to have a suspect interview is at the funeral of the victim. After all, these suspects (if it’s a true cozy) should all know the victim.
Too much information is provided. I wrote more about this a few weeks ago in a post about parceling out information. If the suspect gives the sleuth too much information, you may end up with a very short mystery or an obvious murderer.
Too many back-to-back interviews. This is something I have been guilty of in the past and had to have corrected by various editors. Cozy mysteries are about the mystery, but there are so many other important elements to include–especially the sleuth’s friendships and hook-related hobbies that she works on in her spare time. Not only does this help the reader connect to the sleuth, it helps accomplish the variety the story needs.
If you’re a cozy writer, what hazards have I missed with suspect interviews? Do these look familiar to cozy readers? And, if you write other genres, what kinds of pitfalls do you encounter as you write?
Cozy Mystery Writing: Tips for Better Suspect Interviews:
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March 24, 2019
Templates as Time Savers
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
There are all sorts of time savers out there. They’re not really shortcuts, but they definitely help to both make projects less-overwhelming and quicker to tackle. One of my favorite time-savers is the humble template.
Here are four of my favorites:
The outline template. Yes, I have a very basic template for a cozy mystery. That’s not to say that I won’t deviate from it, but having it there makes the initial stages of planning a book much easier. Outlining isn’t my favorite activity, and this helps it go much quicker.
The back matter template. If you have a back matter template, you simply have to update it each book. It’s a no-brainer. Mine has an ‘about the author’ (again, make sure to keep yours updated), asks for a review, gives my contact info, reminds readers that they can find my book in different formats (like audio), gives my acknowledgments, and provides a list of all my books.
The newsletter template. Newsletters can be a time-consuming activity (even if you only send them at release time, as I do). It makes it so much easier for me to have an established template on MailChimp that I can simply update each time. For more about their templates, click here.
The canned response template. Instead of spending a lot of time responding to spammy guest post requests, I use Gmail’s canned response feature. I have different canned responses for various frequently-received emails (and sometimes I’ll just use the template as a base and add something more personal to it). To read more about canned responses on Gmail, click here.
For ideas on other ways to use templates, see:
Jenny Hansen’s thoughts on setting up a manuscript template in Word
Janice Hardy’s plot template to keep your story on task
Tessa Emily Hall’s marketing plan template
Do you use any of these template tools? What shorts of time-savers do you use?
Using Templates to Save Time as a Writer:
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March 23, 2019
Twitterific Writing Links
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
Twitterific writing links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 50,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.
Have you visited the WKB lately? Check out the new redesign where you can browse by category, and sign up for free writing articles, on topics you choose, delivered to your email inbox! Sign up for the Hiveword newsletter here.
Business / Miscellaneous
How to Start Your Freelance Writing Career: @TheLeighShulman
Reading as an Editor: @DeanWesleySmith
Using IngramSpark for Print Preorders:
First PublisHer’s Dinner: Working to Support Women in Publishing: @HannahSJohnson @pubperspectives
How to Write a Book for the Wrong Book Market: @LisaTener
How to Find a Mentor: 7 Steps to Achieving Big Goals: @TCKPublishing
Business Musings: Learning, The Future, and CES (Contracts/Negotiations): @KristineRusch
Choosing a title for your novel: @AuthorMarilene
Conferences and Events / Miscellaneous
Wellcome’s 10th Anniversary Shortlist Names Authors from Five Nations: @Porter_Anderson @wellcomebkprize
FILI’s ‘Happy’ Fifth Anniversary of Finland’s Guest of Honor: @HannahSJohnson @FinnishLit @pubperspectives
The British Book Awards: 2019 Books of the Year Shortlists: @Porter_Anderson
Creativity and Inspiration / Goal setting
How to Use Life’s Milestones to Achieve Your Writing Goals: @donnabarker @pbackwriter
13 ways to make your writing goals more successful: @pubcoach
Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Reading as Writers
The Terrifying Changeling: 6 Thrillers: @cjtudor @CrimeReads
How To Tell If You’re Crushing on a Book: @nataliezutter @tordotcom
How Five Favorite Childhood Mysteries Stack Up Today: @HesterAuthor @CrimeReads
Why We Hunger for Novels About Food: @crystallyn @lithub
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Fitting in Writing
Getting more done in less time: @AuthorMarilene
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writer’s Block
Multiple Writing Projects: Avoiding Resistance Roadblocks: @RosanneBane
Creativity and Inspiration / Success
Why So Many Beginning Writers Never Become Successful: @MegDowell
Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Life
Why you should reward yourself, frequently: @pubcoach
How Writers Can Think Differently About Their Work: @Frank_McKinley
Is it worth having a tidy place to write? @pubcoach
“Why I read aloud to my teenagers”: by Giulia Rhodes @GuardianBooks
22 Unorthodox Methods For Tidying Your Book Collection: @helpfulsnowman
9 Reasons to Quit Writing: @RachelleGardner
The Challenge of Book-Tour Travel as a Non-Binary Author: @sealln @lithub
4 Ways to Create (And Maintain) a Writing Habit: @batwood
How to Overcome the Loneliness of Being a Writer: @BryanJCollins
Genres / Fantasy
7 Online Resources for Creating Fantasy Languages: by Arianna Lemont @mythicscribes
Things to Consider When Writing Nonhuman Characters: by Sandy Dragon
Genres / Historical
Choosing the Best Protagonist for Historical Fiction: @pcalhenry @CareerAuthors
Genres / Literary Fiction
Book Marketing Strategies for Literary Fiction Authors: @JaneFriedman @IndieAuthorALLI
Genres / Mystery
Secrets as an element in crime fiction: @mkinberg
30 Scene Ideas for Mystery & Suspense Subplots: @EvaDeverell
How to Make Your Mystery Paranormal: by Sandra Gardner
14 Rom Coms That Are Actually Pretty Noir: @DwyerMurphy @CrimeReads
Genres / Non-Fiction
Create Your Nonfiction Book Quickly and Easily: @WriteNowCoach
Genres / Romance
Tips for Creating More Than a Love Story: @mrushingwalker @StoryGrid
The Business of the Romance Novel: @FarahColette @JSTOR_Daily
Genres / Screenwriting
You Talkin’ To Me? How To Write Better Talking Head Scenes: by Mark Sevi @CreativeScreen
Genres / Short Stories
Is Your Fiction a Sprint or a Marathon? — Short vs. Long Form: @richardgthomas3 @CareerAuthors
Genres / Young Adult
A Field Guide to Six Infectious YA Clichés: by Bunny @mythcreants
Promo / Ads
Advanced Facebook Advertising and Marketing Strategies For Authors: @RicardoFayet @ReedsyHQ @IndieAuthorALLI
Promo / Blogging
How to Run Your Own Online Book Tour and Save Money: @Bookgal
Promo / Metadata
What is Metadata? Use Keywords and Categories to Boost Book Sales: @DaveChesson @IndieAuthorALLI
Promo / Miscellaneous
How to Build Book Marketing Strategies into Your Novel Before You Publish: @Bookgal @IndieReader
Sell your Books Long after Launch: How To Boost Your Backlist: @bryancohenbooks @IndieAuthorALLI
5 Outreach Ideas for Authors: by Melissa Chan @DIYMFA
Does the Superfan Exist? Should You Feel Bad if You’ve Never Met One? @annerallen
Promo / Newsletters
How to Keep Your Newsletter from Sucking: @jakazimer @RMFWriters
Promo / Platforms
How to Build Your Author Brand and Increase Sales (Video): @AGBillig @IndieAuthorALLI
Promo / Websites
The Importance of Having a (Well-Designed) Author Website: @michelle_balge @thecreativepenn
Publishing / Miscellaneous
“Five Things I Want Publishers to Know About Innovation”: @TheWritPlatform
Achieving the “It Factor” in Publishing: @tessaemilyhall
The Jimmy Fallon Effect: How the ‘The Tonight Show’ Boosts Book Sales: @Porter_Anderson @FallonTonight @Jamiegranet
Publishing / News / International Publishing
IPA’s Sustainable Development Goals Book Club Welcomes Bologna Children’s Book Fair, Others: @Porter_Anderson @IntPublishers
Words Without Borders March: ‘How Political Borders Shift’: @Porter_Anderson @wwborders
7.7 million audiobooks users in France. 51% are first-timers. French audiobook listeners read more print books than regular readers: @TNPS10
Emirates Publishers Association at 10: Driving Books’ Fast Progress in the Arab World: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Today at Tech Forum in Canada: Taking Advantage of Change: @CarlaJDouglas @pubperspectives
Sheikh Zayed Book Award 2019 Winners: ‘World-Class Thinkers and Authors’: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Georgian Publishers Support an Independent Copyright Association: @Porter_Anderson
Publishing / Options / Self-Publishing
3 Reasons to Self-Publish: @WriteToSell
Why 1 Writer Chose to Self-Publish: @evans_writer @RMFWriters
Publishing / Process / Book Design
5 Tips From a Graphic Designer on Creating an Impactful Book Cover: @kiss_creative @NaNoWriMo
Publishing / Process / Legalities
Copyright Page Templates: Sample Copyright Language You Can Use: @TCKPublishing
How to Create a Pen Name: @TCKPublishing
Writing Craft / Beginnings
First Page Critique:What Color Is Your Story? by PJ Parrish @killzoneauthors
Writing Craft / Characters / Protagonists
Let’s Break Stuff: Passive Characters: @StoryEmpire
Writing Craft / Common Mistakes
Telling Words That Often Spell Trouble in Our Writing: @Janice_Hardy
Get Rid of Your Crutch Words: @Janice_Hardy
Writing Craft / Conflict
The importance of narrative conflict: @Catkcho
Writing Craft / Diversity
Writing X Characters When You Aren’t X: by Bucket Siler
Writing Craft / Flashback and Back Story
Avoiding Info-Dumps: @Author_J_White
Writing Craft / Hooks
What Writers Need to Know About Hooks: @Janice_Hardy
Writing Craft / Lessons from Books and Film
What Bryan Cranston Can Teach Writers: @jamesscottbell
Writing Craft / Miscellaneous
Gratuitous Depictions of Bullying Are Now on Our Hit List: by Chris Winkle
To Filter or Not to Filter: by TD Storm
Writing Tips from Blake Snyder’s ‘Save the Cat’: @AuthorMarilene
The Benefits of Hearing Your Book Read Aloud: @dmassenzio
Writing Characters That Are ‘Smarter’ Than You: @MukherjeeRheea @WriterUnboxed
Writing for Every Type of Reader: @CindyDevoted @EdieMelson
Writing Craft / Pacing
Critique: How to Use Paragraph Breaks to Guide the Reader’s Experience: @KMWeiland
Writing Craft / POV
A Distinctive Narrative Voice: @AJHumpage
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Outlining
How to Write a Novel Without An Outline: @DeanWesleySmith @IndieAuthorALLI
Writing a Reverse Outline: @AmrenOrtega
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Plotting
How to Write a Novel: Tips For Visual Thinkers: by The Caffeine Book Warrior
Fiction Therapy—What’s Your Story’s Problem? @jimdempsey @WriterUnboxed
The Six-Figure Master Fiction Plot: @LMacNaughton
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Research
Common Misconceptions About Artificial Intelligence: @bentaylordata @DanKoboldt
Writing Tips: Digital Forensics for Screen Writers and Novelists: @cjonsecurity @thecreativepenn
Writing Craft / Revision
Words to Consider Cutting from Your Story: by Bucket Siler
Writing Craft / Scenes
How to Advance Your Plot with Careful Scene Design ~ 5 Steps: @LiveWriteThrive
Why Do Boring Scenes Start With “Hello”? @standoutbooks
Coming Up With Scene Ideas: @writingandsuch
Writing Craft / Tension
Secret-Keepers: Generate Page-Turning, Nerve-Shredding Tension: @KristenLambTX
Writing Macro and Micro Tension: @Lindasclare
Writing Craft / Tropes
How ‘Friends’ Makes Character Archetypes Look Easy: @Bang2write
Writing Craft / Word Crafting
Ways of seeing: 11 poets to help you polish your prose: @Roz_Morris @joenutt_author
Writing Tools / Apps
4 Fantastic Features & Plugins for the New WordPress: @Julie_Glover
Writing Tools / Resources
How Do You Learn the Craft of Writing Fiction? @SnowflakeGuy
The Top Writing Links From Last Week Are On Twitterific:
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March 21, 2019
How to Make Your Mystery Paranormal; Or, Solving a Mystery With Help From …Whatever
First a definition: Merriam-Webster: Definition of paranormal: not scientifically explainable: supernatural
If you want to write a story — any kind of story — with a paranormal element, it has to have believability. Whether you’re world-building — say a story set in a mythical time or place – or just adding a ghost or two, the reader needs to be able to suspend disbelief.
An example of a classic ghost story is The Turn of the Screw, a 19th-century novella by Henry James. Set in a real setting — a country house in southeast England — it’s populated with real people, a governess and two children. There also appears to be not just one ghost, but two, out to do harm to the children. The governess tries to protect them from the malevolent spirits, but fails, and in the end, there is a death. The novel is known as a ghost story and a gothic mystery.
Then there are mysteries with “good” ghosts. The Aunt Dimity books by Nancy Atherton are examples. In the first novel, Lori Shepherd discovers an old journal written by her mother’s friend Aunt Dimity, now deceased. Aunt Dimity begins talking to Lori through the pages of the book. More than that, it turns out that Aunt Dimity is an excellent guide in solving crimes, including murder.
Several of Clea Simon’s mysteries include a ghost cat. The ghost of Dulcie Schwartz’s pet cat, Mr. Grey, first appears in Shades of Grey, warning his mistress about a dead body. He acts as a spirit guide and doles out cat-like, inscrutable advice. He mostly acts like a cat, though a ghost, and is believable in his own way.
In Gigi Pandian’s Accidental Alchemist Mysteries, there are several paranormal elements woven into the mysteries. The novels are set in present- day Portland, Oregon. In the first book, Zoe Faust (great last name!), the alchemist, has just moved into a dilapidated old house. Zoe, who might look to be a young woman in her 20s, was actually born in Salem, Massachusetts in 1676. And when Zoe unpacks her luggage, she discovers a stone gargoyle that thinks and walks and talks. But there’s a real dead body on her porch, so the two are off on their first detecting adventure.
In the first of my Mother-and-Me Mysteries, Marabella Vinegar’s recently deceased mother comes back to help get her adult daughter out of trouble. Marabella has just discovered the corpse of her longtime psychotherapist and becomes the prime suspect of an NYPD detective.
Other than the minor fact that the mother is dead, she talks and acts like an overprotective, interfering mother of an adult daughter who, at nearly 40, is still single and works for the boss from hell. And who has spent years in therapy, mainly because of her relationship with said mother.
The good news is that Marabella’s 70-year-old ghost mother has developed certain … supernatural …abilities in the week she’s been in the hereafter. She can waft through walls and ceilings, and appears to be invisible and inaudible to everyone except her daughter. This gives the mystery-loving ghost (a wannabe Jessica Fletcher or Miss Marple) the means to be an invaluable asset to Marabella in her sleuthing adventures.
Except for being a ghost, Marabella’s mother is pretty much an ordinary 70-year-old woman. She has a yen for the older gentleman in the apartment next to Marabella’s; complains about her ungrateful relatives; and constantly gives her daughter unasked-for and unwanted advice. She also complicates her daughter’s life, especially when Marabella begins a relationship with a sexy veterinarian working at the same college as she does.
But the most important feature in the Mother-and-Me Mysteries, as in Gigi Pandian’s, Clea Simon’s, Nancy Atherton’s, and other paranormal mystery writers’ books, is, of course, the mystery. The ghost cat, the journal ghost, the gargoyle, and the ghost mother are there to help the main character solve the mystery. And the characterization of the gargoyle, cat, journal ghost and mother ghost, brings a lighter, sometimes comical, element to the story.
The writer needs to keep in mind that the main thing the reader expects when he or she picks up a mystery, paranormal or not, is a detecting and solving of said mystery with a satisfactory ending. Not necessarily always a happy one, but one that has to make sense in the circumstances. It’s fine to have a ghost (or two) or other otherworldly element (as in a 300-year-old alchemist detective or a talking journal) in a mystery. But the mystery has to be primary, crafted with a believable premise and ending.
If a paranormal writer constructs a whole world in the story, such as setting it on another planet, in an imaginary world, at a time in the past or future, populated with creatures that resemble nothing on this earth, it veers into the fantasy end of supernatural fiction.
Clea Simon, Nancy Atherton and I, have contented ourselves with setting the mystery in a recognizable time and place, with real people. And even though Pandian’s Zoe may be 300-plus-years old, she thinks, talks and acts like a real person in today’s world.
To my mind, writing a paranormal mystery makes double the fun. It gives you the freedom to construct an otherworldly element any way you want — within the framework of the whodunit you’ve spun.
Sandra Gardner is the author of seven books, fiction and non-fiction. Dead Shrinks Don’t Talk, the first in the three-book Mother-and-Me mystery series, was published by Black Opal Books in May, 2018. Grave Expectations, book 2, was released in December, 2018. Death of a Nuisance, book 3, is scheduled for 2019. Halley and Me, a coming-of-age novel, won the 2012 Grassic Short Novel Prize from Evening Street Press in 2012. Non-fiction books include Teenage Suicide and Street Gangs in America, published respectively by Simon & Schuster and Franklin Watts. Street Gangs in America received a book award from the National Federation of Press Women. Previously, she was a contributing writer and columnist for The New York Times.
Author Sandra Gardner On Making a Mystery Paranormal:
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March 17, 2019
Using IngramSpark for Print Preorders
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
There are several reasons why I have my printed books available through print on demand distributor IngramSpark. For one, it’s a cheaper option for international readers than KDP Print (formerly CreateSpace). For another, I like to have a print distributor for bookstores (if a reader requests a book from Barnes & Noble, for instance). I also like a print distributor for libraries (and the option for my books to be in hardcover). Here’s an excellent article from Debbie Young on why authors should use KDP Print and IngramSpark together.
There’s another reason why I like using IngramSpark. They offer the ability for a printed book to be available as a pre-order on Amazon.
KDP Print doesn’t offer a pre-order option, but you can set your release date on IngramSpark and, if the release date is in the future, it will show as a pre-order on Amazon (and the book will be delivered at the release).
I have quite a few readers who still prefer print and I like to be able to offer them the same opportunity to pre-order that my ebook readers enjoy.
There is more of a learning curve with IngramSpark, but I think it’s more intuitive than people say. You will need an ISBN to be on IngramSpark (and you can’t use the free one you received from Amazon). I’ve never had a problem using the same PDFs of the cover and text of the book that I used at Amazon with Ingram, but your mileage may vary. There is also a set-up fee at Ingram, but I don’t believe that I’ve ever paid it because they run promos frequently (be sure to sign up for their newsletters). The current promo (until March 31) is NANO17.
Important things to remember when using both Amazon and IngramSpark (as listed in Debbie Young’s ALLi article linked above):
Use your own ISBN on both platforms – if you start off by using a free KDP one, you won’t be able to use it on IS, because it belongs to Amazon, not to you. (For more advice about buying and using ISBNs, click here.)
Use the same ISBN for the same book on both platforms, otherwise it confuses the system and throws up error messages. It doesn’t matter that the platforms are different – what matters is that you are creating the same product. Equally, if you were having a short run printed at a local printers, you’d use the same ISBN there too.
Choose carefully where to order your author copies, for the sake of time and cost. You can order one or more proof copies from either service before you publish (but only the KDPP proof will be marked clearly as such on the cover so won’t be resaleable). Speed and cost of delivery depends on where you live, as author copies may or may not be printed in your home country.
Are your books in print? Have you branched out from KDP?
Using IngramSpark for Pre-Orders:
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March 16, 2019
Twitterific Writing Links
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
Twitterific writing links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 48,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.
Have you visited the WKB lately? Check out the new redesign where you can browse by category, and sign up for free writing articles, on topics you choose, delivered to your email inbox! Sign up for the Hiveword newsletter here.
Business / Miscellaneous
How To Take Your Creative Business To The Next Level: @taragentile @thecreativepenn
Business Musings: Shifting Attitudes: @KristineRusch
An Agent on Being Discreet as a Ghostwriter: @Janet_Reid
For the Love of the Writing Process: 6 Questions to Hone Your Workflow: @Bob_Mayer @WritersDigest
Grow your Business by Becoming an Independent Publisher: @bkynwriters @IndieAuthorALLI
Increase Your Efficiency by Automating your Author Business: @Creativindie @IndieAuthorALLI
How Authors can Leverage Blockchain Technology: @WeArePrescient @IndieAuthorALLI
Conferences and Events / Miscellaneous
Guest of Honor Norway Heads for Frankfurt via London on Wave of Success: @Porter_Anderson
From Europe and the UK: Two CEOs at London Book Fair’s Quantum Conference: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
London Book and Screen Week Names 2019 CAMEO Award Winners: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
19 Diversity-Focused Writing Conferences & Events in 2019: @sangeeta_editor @WritersDigest
London Book Fair: Friendly, Non-Intimidating Coding for Publishers: @MarkPiesing @has_many_books @pubperspectives
London Book Fair’s International Excellence Awards Honor ‘Publishing To Build a Better World’: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Giving Something Back – Setting Up a Conference: @ChrisHammacott @IndieAuthorALLI
At London Book Fair: Discussing Arabic Literature in a Sheikh Zayed Book Award Session: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
The Man Booker International Prize Longlist: @Porter_Anderson
Aprés London Book Fair: Livre Paris Opens Today: @oliviasnaije @Porter_Anderson
Creativity and Inspiration / Careers in Writing and Day Jobs
Don’t let anyone shame you for having a day job. @thewildwong @emiliewapnick
Creativity and Inspiration / Goal setting
The Daily Mindset Practice That Will Help You Achieve Your Writing Goals: by Jennifer Blanchard
Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration
“Designing My Characters’ Homes Helps Me Write”: by Lisa Gornick @lithub
Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Reading as Writers
The Mysterious Discipline of Narratologists: Why We Need Stories to Make Sense: @ArkadyMartine @tordotcom
The Dark and Dreamy Noir of The Great Gatsby: @RealLiveCritic @CrimeReads
10 Tips for Writing Reviews with Ease: @SherLHoward
Benefits to Listening to Audio Books for Writers: by Melissa Chan @TheIWSG
Five Inhospitable Planets from Science Fiction: @kmkjensen @tordotcom
Reflections on the Difficulties and Influence of Joyce: @JoshuaIsard @LitReactor
5 Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Dystopian Tests That Aren’t What They Seem: by Stubby the Rocket @tordotcom
There’s no shame in reading whatever books you want – literary snobs be damned: by Emily Maguire @GuardianBooks
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Fitting in Writing
Time Management and Organization: @KarenCV
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writer’s Block
Overcome Your Fear of the Blank Page: @WriteNowCoach
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writing Quickly
Common Writing Speed Bumps and How to Handle Them:
Creativity and Inspiration / Success
3 Famous Authors Who Turned Adversity Into Triumph: @DaveChesson @WritetoDone
Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Life
How to Submit Writing Like A Relentless Force of Nature: @helpfulsnowman @LitReactor
Cycles in a Writing Life: @victoria_grif7
Narrative Detour: Rediscover Your Novel: @doc_awesomeo
How Meditation Can Improve Your Writing : by Jennifer Frost @Writers_Write
5 Lessons From Six Weeks of No Social Media: @besscozby @DIYMFA
What Kind Of Procrastinator Are You? @KMAllan_writer
Why Do You Write? A Simple Question…But What About the Answers? @Peter_Rey_
A Writer’s Job Is to Persevere: Not Stopping at 96: by Eugenia Lovett West @WritersDigest
Why Push Yourself to Write More Books? @ZoeMMcCarthy
Genres / Memoir
How to Write a Memoir: Each Chapter Should Tell a Story: @CockeyedCaravan
Genres / Miscellaneous
Is My Story Idea Speculative Fiction? @ZoeMMcCarthy
Genres / Mystery
Introverted Characters in Crime Fiction: @mkinberg
Genres / Non-Fiction
7 Steps Toward Writing Your Transformational Book: @NinaAmir@WritersDigest
How to Write Technical Nonfiction for a Wide Audience: 5 Tips: by Sean Miller @ReedsyHQ
Genres / Romance
How To Write The Tragic Love Story – A 10-Step Formula: @AnthonyEhlers @Writers_Write
11 of the Most Popular Romance Tropes — and How to Make Them New Again: @ReedsyHQ
Genres / Screenwriting
Great Scene: “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” : @GoIntoTheStory
Screenwriting: An Archive of What NOT to Do: @CockeyedCaravan
The Business of Screenwriting: There are three kinds of people in Hollywood: @GoIntoTheStory
Promo / Blogging
Why Some of Your Readers Will Never Comment on Your Blog Posts: @MegDowell
10 SEO Copywriting Tips For Beginners: @Writers_Write
Promo / Book Reviews
Why Did Amazon Remove My Book Reviews? @TCKPublishing
Promo / Miscellaneous
Your 2019 Book Marketing Plan: @NewShelvesBooks @BookWorksNYC
When Does A Book Become Over-promoted? @sjbwrites @IndieAuthorALLI
How to reach your target market on all platforms: @MarkLeslie @IndieAuthorALLI
Promo / Newsletters
How to Grow an Email Newsletter Starting from Zero: @Christinamac79 @JaneFriedman
Promo / Platforms
7 Author Branding Lessons Learned from Twenty One Pilots: @_HannahHeath
Promo / Social Media Tips
Your Online Presence: 10 Mistakes for Authors to Avoid: @annerallen
Promo / Websites
Five Simple SEO Tips for Authors: @elawilliams_ @DIYMFA
The right way to launch your author website: @debemmitt
Publishing / Miscellaneous
How to Calculate Amazon Fees for Printing Paperbacks Using KDP Print: @Wogahn
US Publisher F+W Media Hearing Today in Chapter 11 Protection Filing: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Creating a Second Edition: @valerie_francis @StoryGrid
Publishing / News / International Publishing
France’s BIEF Hit by London Book Fair Transit Delays in Calais’ Brexit Protests: @oliviasnaije @Porter_Anderson
London Book Fair: Rebuilding the University of Mosul Library: @oliviasnaije @pubperspectives
11 Ways to Sell More Books to International Audiences (without spending money on book translation): @Bookgal
Publishing / Options / Self-Publishing
How Much Does it Cost to Self Publish a Book? by Tom Ashford @pbackwriter
Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing / Querying
‘Is my ms dead in the water?’ An Agent Answers: @Janet_Reid
Should I get my manuscript professionally edited before querying agents? @Catkcho
Why Querying Writers Shouldn’t Write Sequels: @MegLaTorre
Formatting your manuscript for editors and agents: @lisapoisso
Publishing / Process / Legalities
The Growing Importance of Intellectual Property: @KristineRusch @PassiveVoiceBlg
Writing Craft / Characters / Emotion
Character Research: How to Write Authentic Emotion: @AngelaAckerman @ProWritingAid
6 Ways to Show Emotions for Non-POV Characters: @beccapuglisi @JamiGold
Writing Craft / Characters / Supporting Characters
Working with a Large Cast of Characters: @SeptCFawkes
Writing Craft / Conflict
Writing The Fight Scene: @davidfarland
Writing Craft / Dialogue
How to Write Funny Dialogue: 5 Tips for Making Readers Laugh Out Loud: @iStephenEvans @WritersDigest
5 Tips for Using Voice in Dialogue: by Vincent H. O’Neil
Writing Craft / Drafts
What If All Writing is Just Drafts, Forever? @Joe_Scapellato @lithub
Writing Craft / Miscellaneous
Purple And Beige Writing: What You Need To Know: by Rebecca Langley @standoutbooks
The Inner/Outer Balance: @DonMaass @WriterUnboxed
Creating Authentic Details: Keeping Secrets: by Pamela Taylor @DIYMFA
How to Write Better: A Quick Guide: @MegDowell
Using Literary Techniques in Narrative Journalism: @DustinGrinnell @WritersDigest
Avoiding the Midbook Slump: Three Techniques to Keep Readers Reading: @writeabook
Three Writing Rules to Disregard @BCDreyer @parisreview
For Fact & Fiction: Borrow Non-fiction Techniques for your Fiction: @isekhmet
Writing Craft / POV
How Do I Write Exposition in Close Perspective? by Chris Winkle @mythcreants
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Plotting
Pre-Writing: @DPWauthor @KillerNashville
How Do Pantsers Develop Characters? @JamiGold
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Story Concept
The 7 Elements of a Viable Story Idea: @flyingwrestler @savethecat
Writing Craft / Revision
7 Tips for the Reluctant Editor: by Rebecca Frost @NaNoWriMo
8 Early Draft Cuts For A Stronger Manuscript: @KMAllan_writer
How to strategically edit for timeline inconsistencies: @raimeygallant
Writing Craft / Scenes
Top 5 Mistakes Writers Make Writing Scenes: @JimMercurio @Bang2write
Writing Craft / Settings and Description
Boosting Your Prose: Setting: @davidfarland
Quick Writing Tip: Don’t Forget about Sound: by Bucket Siler
Writing Craft / Tropes
Story Tropes: How Do We Twist a Cliché? @JamiGold
Writing Craft / Word Crafting
Filtering Unnecessary Jargon in Your Writing: @AnneJanzer
Writing Tools / Resources
How to Find the Writing Coach You Need: @Jffelkins @write_practice
8 Great Podcasts for Writers and Book Authors: by Ali Hale @writing_tips
Character Arc Plot & Kurt Vonnegut’s Story Shapes: @EvaDeverell
The Top Writing Links From Last Week Are On Twitterific:
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March 14, 2019
Skip Those Writing Speed Bumps
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
There are a variety of things that can slow you down as you write. I’m not sure how many writing sessions in the past have been derailed by really simple things.
Here are some of my most-likely culprits and how I manage to move past them:
Timeline. I just used the word ‘yesterday’ to refer to something earlier in the story. Was it yesterday, or was it earlier? Solution: Note it in one separate document. I call mine “Things to Fix in ______ (Story Name).” It’s a completely separate Word document that I keep in the same folder as the manuscript. One entry for my current WiP is this simple: page 95….was it yesterday morning?
Names. Oops. This character doesn’t seem to have a last name. Solution: put an asterisk in the manuscript to point out the issue and fix later. When you’re ready to work on the second draft, just do a search for asterisks in your document.
Loose ends that I suddenly remember. Did Myrtle leave a casserole dish with Nell? Solution: note it in my ‘Things to Fix’ document.
Plot holes. Myrtle left a car dealership driving a car. How did she get there (she doesn’t currently own a car)? Solution: note it in my ‘Things to Fix’ document.
Ideas that I want to incorporate into past chapters. Solution: Again, this goes into that ‘Things to Fix’ document. Or, sometimes, I’ll note the ideas in Word’s Track Changes.
Veering off the outline. Or a POV change. Any major departure for the story. Solution: mark it with an asterix (or put a comment in Track Changes) and start writing from the new POV, etc., from that point in the book, on. Make the changes after the first draft is finished.
Issues realized. I don’t have enough clues to point to the murderer. Solution: note the fact in the ‘Things to Fix’ doc.
Although the temptation is to fix the problem immediately, I’ve found that I stay focused on my story and make more word count gains if I just note the issue and keep going.
Do you run into these types of speed bumps in your story? Others? What’s your approach toward them?
Speed Bumps that Writers Encounter and Tips to Deal With Them:
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March 10, 2019
How to Calculate Amazon Fees for Printing Paperbacks Using KDP Print
It is simple to figure out eBook royalties because there are no “manufacturing” costs. But the formula for calculating your royalty for a paperback book printed by Amazon KDP Print is another matter. That’s because we have two mouths to feed:
The printer, in this case Amazon KDP.
The retailer—online and brick and mortar—adds their mark-up or selling commission.
The retailer’s commission is relatively easy to figure out because it hasn’t changed much over the years. It is typically 40% for the retailer and in fact that is Amazon’s share when you use KDP Print.
(As an aside, you give up an additional 20% when or if you make your book available for expanded distribution, which for KDP Print is handled by Ingram. Meaning, you receive 40% of your book’s retail selling price less the cost to manufacture it.)
That leaves manufacturing (printing) costs as the great unknown. In this post I’ll share the three ways to calculate KDP Print manufacturing costs.
I’ll also include an example of what happens if Amazon decides to sell your book for less than your suggested retail price.
Calculating KDP Print manufacturing costs
The primary factors that affect costs are:
The country where your book is sold
The number of pages in your book
Whether you are printing the interior in color or black and white
There are 3 ways to calculate your KDP Print printing costs:
Upload your files to KDP Print and their calculator will give you a cost.
Use Amazon’s pricing tables. See below for Amazon.com (other countries are different).
Download the KDP Print Excel spreadsheet print cost calculator.
The chart below was pulled from this page where you’ll find prices for books sold in other countries. Trim size, bleed settings, and cover finish do not affect cost of printing.
Also on this same page you’ll find a download button for the KDP print cost calculator available as an Excel worksheet. (Click the subsection: How we calculate printing cost.)
Calculating Amazon paperback selling commission and your royalty
Now that you have the cost to manufacture your printed book you can compute the sales commission. This is easy: your royalty is 60% of your list price minus printing costs.
(list price x 60%) – printing costs = royalty
Returning to our client’s novel, Trials and Trails, it looks like this:
Manufacturing cost: (278 PDF pages * $0.012 per page) + $0.85 = $4.19
Royalty calculation: ($14.95 x 60%) – $4.19 = $4.78
KDP Print minimum and maximum pricing
Of course, you can’t sell your paperback for less than it costs to print it, so Amazon calculates that number for you. The formula for this is:
Printing cost / 60% (royalty rate) = minimum list price. As you see above for Trials and Trails, that number is:
$4.19 / 60% = $6.98.
The maximum price of your paperback must be no more than $250 (no math required!), 250EUR for the European marketplace, or 30,000 Yen for Japan. Also, your price must not be higher in any other sales channel. For example, if you sell your book on your website it must match the price you list it for on Amazon. (And yes, Amazon can undercut your price.)
Expanded distribution royalties are lower
Expanded distribution is when Amazon makes your book available to other online retailers via their relationship with Ingram, the parent company of IngramSpark. This is optional, but it can’t already be distributed by another company (typically, for self-publishers, this is going to be IngramSpark).
As noted above, Trails and Trails is ineligible and that’s because we used IngramSpark to offer the book for pre-order. The book remains there for distribution to other online retailers.
Books that are eligible receive a royalty of 40%. Ingram needs to be compensated for making your book available to their network of retailers (BN.com, for example). Again, this is for paperbacks, not eBooks.
The cost to buy author copies of your book
As an aside, the cost for you to buy copies of your own book is the printing price ($4.19 in this example).
What if Amazon is selling my book for less than my list price?
This might be the most common pricing question we get from new self-publishing authors. The answer is your royalty does not change, subject to Amazon’s terms and conditions here on their Digital Pricing Page or here on their Print Pricing Page.
Much of the time Amazon is simply trying to meet or beat a competitor’s price. Below is an example of a deeply discounted paperback, Off the Couch.
Amazon decided to sell the book at a loss—I can confirm the author did get her $4.86 royalty even though the selling price was $4.52. The price has since been increased to $10.76.
How do you price your print editions?
I can think of three ways to arrive at a retail price for a print book.
A few authors I’ve worked with just assume Amazon will discount the price of their book. Then they add 10-20% to what they feel is a reasonable price and hope Amazon doesn’t let them down.
Others will research comparable books and use a composite of those numbers.
The third option is to figure out the cost to print and sell their book and aim for a profit margin.
How do you price your print edition?
David Wogahn is the author of three books including Register Your Book and The Book Reviewer Yellow Pages and is an author for LinkedIn Learning. His award-winning author-services company, AuthorImprints, has helped more than 125 authors professionally self-publish books using their own publishing imprint.
How to Calculate Amazon Fees for Printing Paperbacks Using KDP Print (by David Wogahn @Wogahn ):
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