Ian Lamont's Blog, page 4

LinkedIn In 30 Minutes is a Foreword Indies winner

I am pleased to announce that one of our top-selling titles — LinkedIn In 30 Minutes, Second Edition — is a Foreword Indies winner. The book, by author Angela Rose, explains how to get the most out of LinkedIn, from creating a rock-solid profile to finding a job. Angela’s book was considered a top pick by the judges (librarians and booksellers working with the organizers of the Foreword Reviews competition) and received an honorable mention in the Career category. Considering this year was a...

Amazon Pay WooCommerce extension: Why we’re turning it off

We recently set up e-commerce capabilities on in30minutes.com to make it easier for our customers to purchase In 30 Minutes guides, our line of technology cheat sheets, and . It wasn’t easy. Besides dealing with the WooCommerce settings in WordPress, there was additional work required to get an SSL certificate for the site (to protect our customers’ information and enable secure transactions), set up Stripe for credit card payments, load items into the store, and test...

Ben Franklin silver award goes to Genealogy Basics In 30 Minutes

Last week I flew to Portland to attend the Independent Book Publishers Association annual conference, Publishing University. I have attended in the past, but this time was special: In 30 Minutes guides was picking up a Ben Franklin award for Genealogy Basics In 30 Minutes, by author Shannon Combs-Bennett!

[image error]IBPA’s Benjamin Franklin awards are well-known in the independent publishing community. Submissions are judged by multiple people according to very specific criteria, and the competition is...

Announcing Crowdfunding Basics In 30 Minutes

[image error]Publisher i30 Media today released the first edition of Crowdfunding Basics In 30 Minutes (ISBN 9781939924742) by author and crowdfunding expert Michael J. Epstein.

In a single sitting, readers will learn how to plan and execute successful crowdfunding campaigns on Kickstarter, Indiegogo, GoFundMe, and other online platforms. Epstein explains different types of crowdfunding projects, including entrepreneurial startups, creative or artistic projects, charities and community causes, individual...

Should a self-published author get a distributor or agent?

I recently received an email from a self-published author who wanted to know whether he should get a distributor or agent for his book. He had printed up 1,000 copies using a China-based printer, and wanted to know how he could get them into stores or noticed by an agent.

My answer: Getting distributors for printed books is extremely difficult … and probably not worth it. In-store retail paperback sales are falling, margins are thin, there has been a lot of consolidation in the industry, and...

Announcing an updated version of our unofficial iPhone user guide

Publisher i30 Media has released an updated version of its iPhone user guide. Authored by Ian Lamont, iPhone Basics In 30 Minutes covers the current iPhone hardware lineup including the iPhone 6S, iPhone 6S Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, and the iPhone SE. It also explores the iOS operating system, Apple services such as iCloud and Siri, and important apps such as Phone, Photos, Mail, and Maps. Finally, it providesreviews ofnine powerful apps that many new iPhone owners may never have heard o...

Announcing our new Microsoft Word guide

Publisher i30 Media Corp. is pleased to announce the launchthis week of Microsoft Word In 30 Minutes: How to make a bigger impact with your documents and master Word’s writing, formatting, and collaboration tools. While most people know how to open a .docx file and start entering text on the screen, Microsoft Word In 30 Minutes is designed to take readers to the next level and leverage Word’s powerful design, sharing, and reviewing tools.

[image error]Authored by Angela Rose, the book guides readers throu...

WordPress login problem solved

As a digital publisher, one of the worst feelings in the world is losing control over some aspect of production. Maybe your laptop breaks, an employee or key freelancer leaves, or a vital tool disappears. In i30 Media I have built a lot of redundancy, so if something fails we can move to the backup … but what if the backup option has problems of its own? That’s what happened to me this week when one of our WordPress installations had a login problem. I am happy to report that the WordPress lo...

Soulene wins IPNE book award

[image error]On this blog, I have documented the ups and downs of running an experimental nonfiction publishing venture—i30 Media, which I founded four years ago to publish In 30 Minutes guides. But one thing I seldom mention on this blog or elsewhere is the fact that i30 Media is also a publisher of fiction. I am pleased to announce that one our fiction titles, Soulene: A Healer in Paris, recently received an award from the Independent Publishers of New England for young adult fiction. Congratulations go...

Free resources for family genealogists

When we released Genealogy Basics In 30 Minutes last month, we also launched a companion website. This is typical for In 30 Minutes guides—the websites contain additional resources, such as author bios, and free resources such as blog posts and videos. But for Genealogy Basics In 30 Minutes, author Shannon Combs-Bennett and publisher i30 Media wanted to offer something else for free—genealogy forms, which many amateur and professional genealogists use to track their progress and visualize the...