Nick Thacker's Blog, page 4

7 Things I’ve Learned Self-Publishing Books

In 2011, I began a journey that hasn’t ended yet: I started writing my first thriller novel, and myfirst-ever attempt at writing fiction,The Golden Crystal. I wasn’t planning on publishing it beyond having a couple hardcover copies printed: one for my dad for a Christmas gift and one to have on the coffee table at home, because, well, vanity.

As I reached the end of the project, something nagged at me. Iloved this process. This journey of takingnothingand creating something out of it; it wasn...

10 Things I’ve Learned Self-Publishing Books

In 2011, I began a journey that hasn’t ended yet: I started writing my first thriller novel, and myfirst-ever attempt at writing fiction,The Golden Crystal. I wasn’t planning on publishing it beyond having a couple hardcover copies printed: one for my dad for a Christmas gift and one to have on the coffee table at home, because, well, vanity.

As I reached the end of the project, something nagged at me. Iloved this process. This journey of takingnothingand creating something out of it; it wasn...

Self-Publishing Your Book: A Simple Primer

Note: This is a guest post from last week’s contributor, James Rose. Take it away, James!

This is perhaps the greatest time in history for aspiring authors due to the fact that many empowering resources exist to enable the swift and affordable publication of books. No longer do writers have to “sell” their work to corporate executives in order to see their book in print. With a rudimentary understanding of the current self-publishing technology, authors can produce a professional level book a...

SPA 34: “To Niche Or Not to Niche”

In today’s episode ofThe Self-Publishing Answerspodcast, Kevin and I answer a great question from Jackie Bolen about “niche” markets, and whether or not she should focus in on a smaller niche or broaden the spectrum and make the niche bigger. We think we did a decent job answering it, even though Nick’s baby whined the entire time and he sounded like he was a late-night radio show host on NPR. Kevin, once again, saved the day.

On this show:

TumThack Anticourse: Don’t miss out on this one! We...

Bestselling Book Cover Design: What You Need to Know

To go with our recently-published Self-Publishing Answers podcast episodes on great book cover design, we thought it would be cool to offer this guest post to sort of “round things out.” Enjoy!

Invariably the number one challenge for self-publishers is designing a quality cover for their book. The subjective nature of any type of design makes the process one full of doubt and second guessing. Couple with this the fact that many authors are not visual thinkers and it becomes clear why book cov...

SPA 33: How to Design a Great Book Cover (Part 2)

Last week, Kevin and I shared our best tips for designing a book cover, or at least what to look for in a great self-published book cover. We spent most of the time talking about fonts and typefaces, and some tips and tricks for getting them to “pop” off the cover without being cliche, obvious, or cheesy.

As we promised, this week we’ll spend most of the time talking about theimagery on the cover — that is, everythingelse that’snottypeface or font. From where to find those images/pictures to...

Social Media: How Writers Should Interact

Whether it is Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or Google +, social media has invaded our everyday lives. Everyone hears about the latest books, feuds between authors, and leaks almost the instant it happens, so the way we present ourselves on social media is more important than ever. Interacting with your readers, handing positive and negative feedback, and becoming active in your niche without being promotional are just some of the important ways in which writers should handle social...

It’s So Much Easier Not To…

I’m writing this post after having a long, drawn-out argument.

With myself.

Actually, I’mstill having the argument, and I feel like I’m losing (funny how that works, right?). I’m losing an argument with myself. The glass-half-full folksout there will say, “hey, you’re alsowinningthe argument!” while the glass-half-empty lot will be yelling, “haha, what a loser!”

The realists, like me, will be shouting, “um, shouldn’t you be working instead of arguing with yourself?”

Yes, I tell them. Yes I sh...

SPA 32: How to Design A Great Book Cover (Part 1)

Today we’re discussing book cover design. The first of two (at least) episodes, this one’s about typeface/font choice for DIY cover design (and what to look for if someone else is doing it for you).

News from Nick:

Nick has a BookBub ad, so we’ll talk about the results of that nextweek KDP (Amazon) has a new Dashboard look and feel, and it’s oh-so-nice! The Enigma Strain audiobook edition is in production, once again by Mike Vendetti (producedThe Golden CrystalandThe Depths) – at ACX.com The...

SPA 31: Story Structure and Crafting Great Books (Part 2)

Kevin and Nick are back! Nick was out with a new baby (yep, totally worth it!), and Kevin was just lazy (or something like that. Nick got to write the description this time around.)

We continue our(long overdue) discussion about story structure and crafting great books. Once again, we wanted to start with a high-level, “birds-eye-view” approach first, then move into some more granular, tactical ways to structure, outline, and craft fiction.

We get into a few specific resources, including:

Ta...