Dana Sitar's Blog, page 11

The Wild West of Ebook Publishing: How Do You Know You’re Doing it Right?

Ready to publish your brilliant ebook? Let DIY Writing offer the support, motivation, and resources you need with E-Pub Bootcamp!

With the rise of successful self-published fiction books in the Kindle Store, “ebook publishing” has become synonymous in some contexts with “self-publishing”.

I kinda hate this.

Mostly I hate it because it doesn’t tell the whole story. Self-publishing generally makes people think “genre fiction”, and once you’re in that arena, you’ve moved completely away from t...

How About a Cooperative Approach to Self-Publishing?

The air is abuzz with excitement today at DIY Writing, as we officially launch our digital publishing arm! Through our pre-order campaign, you can now register for some incredible early-bird discounts for coaching and courses in ebook publishing: Get up to 50% off E-Pub Bootcamp, a series of project-based courses to offer youstep-by-step guidance through the publishing process, from idea to launch.Git it >>

Why run a pre-order campaign, instead of just selling this stuff like a normal biz?

Part...

On Writing This Week: The Right Way to Approach Your Next Draft + more

Here’s what we loved on the internet this week:



For When You Just Can’t Seem to Do ENOUGH

by Jess at The Brazen Bible

Life is like a box of chocolates, not because you never know what you’re going to get, (because hello, they have those little maps in the bottom of the boxes that tell you what each chocolate is), but because you just WANT TO EAT ALL OF IT. Experience all of it. Try all of it.

Because while the universe is vast and outstanding in its never-ending complexities and possibilities? It...

Transforming Your Book from Good to Great with The Editor’s Eye

Today I’m excited to welcome author Stacy Ennis for a Q&A about the book editing process — and the many misconceptions writers have about it.

Stacy is a book and magazine editor, writer, book coach, speaker, and author ofThe Editor’s Eye: A Practical Guide to Transforming Your Book from Good to Great.A few months ago, Stacy’s publisher Night Owls Press reached out to me with a copy of the book for review — and I fell in love!

On the surface, this book seems like a resource for self-editing, but...

Want to Get More Writing Done? Go for Public Accountability

Need some accountability to get your ideas out of your head and onto the page? Join us free for ManiWriMo to write your manifesto in November!

It may seem ironic, but I haven’t met a single writer who hasn’t struggled with putting words on paper at one point or another. Yes, we love what we’re doing and we’re very passionate about our craft, but every once in a while, words still fail us and we find ourselves staring at a blank page. Or, we get one of those “life happens” moments and our...

3 Common Mistakes Writers Make Pitching Their Work to Bloggers and Media

Photo by starmanseries (Creative Commons)

Now that you’ve begun building a solid platform online, amped up your social media presence and are growing a solid email list, it’s time to get your project out into the world. But before releasing your ebook, self-published novel, or course to the public, it’s wise to do a pre-launch and get your project into the hands of those who are influential in your community or niche to build buzz before the project goes live.

Put on your publicity hat!

It’...

On Writing This Week: Copy Editing Tips, Launching an Ebook, + more

Here’s what we loved on the internet this week:

15 Copy Editing Tips That Can Transform Your Content into Persuasive and Shareable Works of Art

by Stephanie Flaxman at Copyblogger

You obviously want to establish your website as anauthoritative publicationin your niche, but in order to cross that threshold you need to critically examine yourcornerstone content.

Strengthening your ability to create content that spreads includes improving yourediting skills. Editors transform basic text into powerfu...

It’s Time to Get that Ebook Idea Out of Your Head and Onto the Page

Wanna talk about it? Tell us:If you were to start writing a manifesto today, what would be the title (and why)? Answer on Facebook >>

With a brilliant and beautiful ebook, you can share your message with the *right* people and build a thriving community around your Big Idea.

Since I’ve started to spread the word about E-Pub services through DIY Writing, I’m getting one all-too-common response from many writers in this community:

I’ve been thinking about writing an ebook for a long time, but...

Ebooks: The Perfect Companion to Boost Your Blog

Whether your blog is big or little, new or well-established, if it doesn’t have an ebook attached to it, you’re missing out on some great opportunities. You’ve probably noticed as you explore the blogosphere that the majority of blogs you land on have at least one ebook (if not a whole page of them) on offer — and for good reason.

Ebooks are multi-benefit products that add extra value for your readers and for you. Here are some of the biggest reasons an ebook is a must-have companion to y...

On Writing This Week: The Future of Editing, Self-Publishing, + more

Here’s what we’ve loved on the internet recently:

6 Steps to Rise Above Rejection and Be a Better Writer

by Heiddi Zalamar at Be a Freelance Blogger

Let’s face it, rejection happens. We get rejected in every facet in our lives.

For writers, that rejection happens when we send out a pitch that isn’t accepted. Sometimes it isn’t even acknowledged. Then it’s easy to fall into a cycle of negative thinking. Rejection becomes fear becomes lack of effort, or giving up entirely.Read more >>

Four step...