Hank Quense's Blog: Hank Quense's Blog, page 18
December 11, 2019
Review for How to Self-publish and Market a Book
“How to Self publish is a very useful book for self publishing authors. Till now I have published three books and working on fourth and still was unaware of the many mistakes that I was committing in publishing my books. The author provides a thorough guide that includes publishing and promotion within a specific predesigned budget. I am feeling much enlightened after reading the book and would definitely employ many of the recommendations to make my next book sell better.” Nicki
You can read all 11 reviews at Amazon
Available at:
Helpful
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November 30, 2019
Story Design Lectures
Learn how to develop your idea into a story with author Hank Quense. During his Story Design series of lectures you’ll build your characters, create a plot, design the scenes and more. After completing the student assignments, you’ll be ready to write the first draft.
Best of all, the lectures are discounted by over 40% for a limited time. Use this link to grab the discount:
https://www.udemy.com/course/story-design/?couponCode=STORYDESIGN-DISCOUNT
Topics covered in this lecture include:
Determine the setting
Develop your characters
Build a plot
Learn to design scenes
Link the plot and the scenes to build an emotional arc
Put it all together
After using these topics to develop your story, you’ll be ready to write the first draft.
This story design process can be used on any type of story. It can be used to develop a short story, a novel, a script, a play and even a memoir. After all, each of these types really is just a story, and all stories use the same story design elements.
Bring your story ideas along and let’s work on it together!
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November 22, 2019
New 5 star review!
And the book is half-price until Black Friday!
Necessary for any first time self-publishing writer
I’ll lead with a confession: I have had a book in the works for years. Other writers will 
laugh after reading that sentence. I will now confess further: Mr. Quense’s book has given me not only the confidence to get through my stagnant manuscript but the inspiration to actually feel as though getting it out there is entirely possible.
The author does an amazing job of giving authors (or future authors) a very approachable, comprehensive step-by-step manual in self-publishing. As I read through, I flagged so many portions that I decided I’d just have to have the book next to me and walk through each step because it was so incredibly pertinent.
I am thrilled that there is such a nuts-and-bolts book that literally walks (terrified) first-time authors who wish to self-publish from beginning to end (including marketing). This book is a gem! I really recommend this to anyone wishing to publish anything, not only a traditional novel…think research, collections, etc.
Available from all online book sellers
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November 17, 2019
Black Friday Pre-sale
Use the links below to browse through the selection
https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B002BM76IE
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/hank-quense?store=allproducts&keyword=hank+quense
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November 16, 2019
Author Karen Cavalli Interview
Karen and I talked about her new book, Bad Mind.
It was interesting conversation since Karen’s book is about the unusual topics you can come across. Her book discusses people’s experiences outsdie our normal reality.
Check it out:https://youtu.be/PiKR0BYfhqY
You can grab a copy at: Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Kobo
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November 9, 2019
Don’t be a fool! Use this tool!
Here is the full review:
Hank Quense has done a very thorough job with this book, “How to Self-Publish and Market a Book.” He has made it simple to follow and not overwhelming for the average self-publisher. Don’t know how to start with Twitter? He breaks it down. Don’t know the difference between a packager and publisher? Don’t know what the average costs are? Quense knows that too.
It’s clear from reading this book that Quense knows what he’s talking about from personal experience, and the things he’s figured out along the way. Perfect for the newbie who isn’t looking to reinvent the wheel.
I recently read a self-published book by an acquaintance and am now wondering if she really checked all these boxes. Could she have had better results selling her book if she’d taken the time to put the books in hands of actual beta readers and not friends? Did she try to speed up the timeline? Did she tick all of the marketing boxes? Did she weigh the pros and cons of ebooks and hard copy?
If I ever get around to finishing the manuscript I have, I will be following the steps Quense outlines with a six-month timeline, to ensure the work is worth the effort.
I loved the information about how to get an ISBN, something I’ve never really understood. I also loved how he talked about websites and setting up blog tours to really get the most out of your book launch.
You can grab a copy at:
And all ebook seller web sites
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November 6, 2019
Booklife Assessment: How to Self-publish and Market a Book
Idea: Quense’s pitch with this book — an author who has self-published many books writing a guide to authors looking to self-publish their own — is sharply honed, and the resulting book offers exactly what its audience would be seeking. Quense anticipates the pitfalls and mistakes first-time self-publishers face, and he offers clear, concrete advice for avoiding them, bolstered by strong examples from his own career.
Prose: Quense’s prose is unfussy and direct, just what is needed for such a
Originality: There are certainly other how-to books surveying the same field, but what’s most original and helpful in Quense’s volume is its dedication to offering writers a clear step-by-step guide to their self-publishing journey. Quense organizes the volume chronologically, describing the tasks an author should attend to five months before publication, then four months before publication, and so forth. This approach is unique and helps prevent the task at hand from being overwhelming. Another factor separating Quense’s guide from other how-to books: Quense is frank about costs, and he makes no unrealistic promises about outcomes.
Execution: Quense is strong in explaining what self-published authors need to do and also demonstrating why these steps matter. Even authors averse to, say, establishing a social-media presence, are likely to find the advice here persuasive and manageable. Making it all “manageable” could be the book’s greatest strength — and it could only be improved in that regard with a more thorough table of contents or topic-driven index. The structure makes the book somewhat less accessible than it might be to authors who just want advice on one topic, like the difference between a publisher and packager or how to find an artist to design a cover.
Blurb: Concise and bursting with practical advice, How to Self-Publish and Market a Book delivers exactly what its title promises, with clear eyes and little fat.
Score:
Plot/Idea: 10
Originality: 9
Prose: 9
Character/Execution: 9
Overall: 9.25
The ebook is available from:
And other book sellers
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November 1, 2019
Bad Mind
My friend and fellow author, Karen Cavalli, has a new book!
Called Bad Mind, this non-fiction book explores unusual phenomena. Here is the book blurb:
Quantum physics, black holes, astronomy… we often ponder and deliberate these topics across all social stratums, our workplaces, places of worship, and on social media. We are confident that a discussion of these subjects will not produce a round of derision from our peers. But what if we asked our co-workers about their encounters with otherworldly beings? What if we asked our friends if they have ever had contact with an alien?
In Bad Mind, Karen Cavalli explores the possibility of extraterrestrial beings and what that means for us in this world. As she details examples from her life and others 
she has encountered, she lays out for the reader what it means to have an encounter with spirit and how it can guide us to a deeper understanding of our reality.
You can get a copy on Amazon
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October 31, 2019
Self-publishing Starter Kit
There are four lectures in the Kit:
Self-publishing Mini-course: a discussion of issues on self-publishing
Converting a Manuscript to an Ebook: a manuscript must undergo significant revisions before it is ready to become an ebook
Strategic Marketing Plans: all book marketing starts with a strategic plan
Scams: the internet has many scam artists searching for inexperienced authors. Learn some of their tricks
These four lectures have been developed and presented over the last few years and bundled together for the first time to address issues that are important to new self-publishers.
You can view the course by following this link: https://bit.ly/2OVOgjp
http://hankquense.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/SK-trailer.mp4
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October 30, 2019
Not Guilty Excerpt
She’s the author of Not Guilty, a novel about a teen-age protagonist who is found guilty of an assault he didn’t do. He is sentenced to time in a juvenile detention center 
and learns to struggle with and survive his situation.
At the moment, Not Guilty has a 4.9 star average reviews on Amazon and that’s not bad. The ebook is available from:
You can also find it on Goodreads.
Here is an except:
Chapter Two
That next morning, the radio alarm woke Devon, blasting news about an assault on Sugar Cove Beach yesterday afternoon. Without opening his eyes, he fumbled for the sleep button. He didn’t want to think about yesterday afternoon. He didn’t want to think about Sugar Cove. He didn’t want to think about anything. He pulled the covers over his head and fell back to sleep.
When he finally got out of bed, it was too late to shower or eat breakfast. He barely 
made it to class in time for first bell.
The rest of that day came special delivery from hell. Kristen still wouldn’t believe him. She’d double-checked with Briana about his car and Briana was positive. He lost his temper, said something about Briana that he shouldn’t have, and Kristen stomped away. Every time he tried to corner her at school, she dodged him. He texted her. She didn’t text back. He called her. She hung up twice, and then she stopped answering.
At dinner that night, his parents were super-pissed about the ticket and tossed around the idea of mothballing his car, his dad’s Navy vocabulary, until the end of term. His sister saved his bacon when she started in on the assault at Sugar Cove. He tuned it out, glad that his ticket wasn’t the big news anymore. He owed Mia, but he’d never cop to that.
The Tsunamis played okay the rest of the week, but without his head in the game, they weren’t the stars they’d been last Saturday. When Coach put Simon in, Devon hated to admit it, but Simon The Scowl played a better game than he did.
By Sunday afternoon, he was looking for a long vegging-out day with popcorn and a marathon of TV basketball.
His parents were at a movie and Mia was at a friend’s house. Finally, he had the TV room to himself. Except for Buddy, but all his dog needed was his spot on the couch and a rawhide bone. He never hogged the remote.
He’d poured extra butter over the steamy bowl of fluffy white corn and had a handful of napkins to sop up the grease when the doorbell rang.
Buddy pranced ahead of Devon on his way down the hall. Cramming some popcorn into his mouth, Devon opened the door. Two men stood outside.
“Devon Carlyle?” The man on the porch wore a tan shirt and pants with a sheriff’s badge pinned on his jacket.
Because his mouth was still full, Devon nodded.
He recognized the man behind the sheriff as the one who’d given him the speeding ticket.
“We have a search warrant.” The sheriff held out an official-looking paper. “Are your folks home?”
He swallowed. “Uh. No.”
“Then show us your room, please.” The sheriff stepped forward.
“What are––”
“Your room? Which one is it?” the sheriff asked.
Buddy stayed close to his side, whining as Devon led them upstairs. He stood in the doorway, watching the two men open his desk drawers, shuffle through his closet, and search under his bed. Buddy paced, nudging Devon’s hand. He’d picked up on stress signals from his kid.
With each drawer they opened in his room, Devon flinched. He felt stripped, exposed. “What are you after? Tell me!”
The sheriff straightened from examining behind the dresser. “Anything?” he asked the deputy. The deputy shook his head.
“We’re looking for a wallet.”
Before the thought what that might mean, Devon pulled his out.
The sheriff glanced at it, shook his head. “We’d like you to come to the sheriff’s office.”
“What’s––”
“Hold on. Before you say anything, you’re not a suspect.”
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