Murdoch Books want to make sure their customers know where to buy their books. An excellent idea for independent authors when setting up their own sites…
Publisher Rocket and You
Authors uploading to Amazon and looking into ways to promote their title/s will eventually hear about the Publisher Rocket service. Publisher Rocket is a book marketing tool focusing solely on Amazon (which is the dominant online bookseller for both print and ebooks).
In the words of an author reviewer:
Publisher Rocket is essentially a research tool. It helps self-published authors understand what readers actually want, and how to connect with them with your books. But it's not just for self-published or independent authors—traditional publishers use it too.
Here are some things you can discover in Publisher Rocket:
What phrases Amazon buyers are actually searching for.
The psychology of how readers choose to buy books.
How much money readers are spending on certain niches and topics.
How much money specific books are making per month (for example, books that might be competing with yours).
Reddit has an interesting thread discussing the pros and cons of the service. Reviews on Trust Pilot are quite positive. To be used in conjunction with Dave Chesson’s blog (Chesson is the founder of Publisher Rocket)
Tartan it Up: How to Present Your Book Morton Smuggler style
Davin Ardlie’s fantastic new book The Morton Smuggler is now available at his website. It’s a sweeping saga about love, loyalty and growing up:
Rupert Johnson’s path to an independent mind was always going to be unconventional. It was planned that way. But he wasn’t supposed to go alone. Rupert is destined to learn the hard way.
India. Scotland. Australia. Tunisia. His letter-writing and his fishing are the only constants, beyond independence. Above all else he dreams of the day he can lay claim to a Morton Smuggler, the world’s most elusive fly fishing reel. The Morton Smuggler cannot be purchased; it can only
be earned.
Against the hard lessons from wartime tragedy, stubborn nostalgia and the many injustices of existence, Rupert creeps towards an understanding of the things in life that can be felt but never seen.
Towards a Morton Smuggler.
Dav sent me a copy the other day, and the packaging made receiving it rather special: a good strong mailer, two nicely designed stickers and a tartan band, plus the address label. So order one today and reward an author willing to put effort into presentation as well as content.
Free Advice on Digital book Promotion
Ricardo Fayet of Reedsy has a well reviewed and free ebook full of advice on marketing your book digitally. Well worth a read on a topic that daunts many authors…
Writing a book is hard. Marketing it can be even harder.
Marketing a book can seem like a full-time job, what with the crazy number of things authors seem to be expected to do: social media, blog tours, advertising, price promotions, mailing lists, giveaways, you name it.
But here's a little secret: you don't need to do all those things to successfully set your book on the path to success. What you need is a solid plan to find the one or two tactics that will work, and start to drive sales… in a minimum amount of time. And that's exactly what you'll find in this book.
Instead of drowning you in information or inundating you with hundreds of different tactics and strategies that eventually prove fruitless, this book will guide you through a step-by-step framework to find the ones that actually work for you and your book, so that you can start marketing more efficiently.
In particular, you'll learn:
How to change your mindset and sell more books with less effort.;
How to write books that guarantee a lasting, profitable career;
How to get Amazon's Kindle Store to market your book for you;
How to get thousands of readers into your mailing list before you even release the book;
How to propel your book to the top of the charts at launch; and
How to automate your marketing so that you can spend less time marketing and more time writing,
After helping over 150,000 authors crack the marketing code through a popular weekly newsletter, Reedsy's Co-founder Ricardo Fayet is sharing everything he's learned over the past few years in this beginner-friendly, jargon-free guide to book marketing.
Get your copy now and benefit from all the experience of a seasoned marketing professional.
Nominate Yourself for an IngramSpark Curated List
From IngramSpark, a service that may be of some interest to authors using their POD and ebook distribution service:
Nominate Your Book Today
Promote your book as part of curated lists sent to retailers, librarians, wholesalers, consumer-facing read and review sites, and more!
Upcoming promotional opportunities from IngramSpark Distribution
Click on the “Nominate” button to submit your books for consideration to be included in that month’s promotion.
IngramSpark Distribution will review all nominations. Not all nominations will be selected for inclusion in that month’s publication.
Regional Content & Authors
Nominate your book to be considered for regionally targeted promotions by author and content. Please specify the corresponding city/state to be considered, and note if your book is set in the specified area, the content relates to that area, and/or if the author is from that area.
Amazon lowers its royalties ... naturally
They may have got their start selling books online, but that doesn’t mean Amazon have any love in their hard little algorithmically animated hearts for antediluvian scribblers. Kindlepreneur details the latest squeeze on defenceless authors…
If you sell paperback or hardcover books on Amazon KDP, this affects you. On June 10, Amazon lowered the royalty rate for certain print books. Specifically: Books priced at $9.98 or less (USD) now earn 50% royalties instead of 60%. (This applies to both paperback and hardcover formats — but not ebooks.)
So if your print books are priced under $9.99, you’re now earning less per sale. Not exactly great news... but it actually gets worse: Books that moved to the 50% royalty rate also have a higher minimum list price. If your current price falls below that new threshold, you could earn nothing at all per sale.
That’s not hyperbole either. Amazon spells it out: A “regular trim size paperback with 300 pages, black and white ink, sold on Amazon for $8.00” now earns zero royalties. That’s the bad news.
The good news? We’ve updated our KDP Royalty Calculator to reflect these changes, so you can check your pricing and avoid nasty surprises. If you haven’t run the numbers yet, now’s the time.
https://kindlepreneur.com/kdp-royalty-calculator/
As always, we’ll keep you informed when Amazon changes the rules (and make sure you have the tools to respond).
When you’re pretty much the only game in town, there is not much restraining your behaviour… See First Mover theory — with Amazon as a case study.
Too Good To Be True: Books.By
Kindlepreneur does a deep dive on book startup Books.by. Reddit also has quite a long thread with author feedback. And the overall picture is not pretty. Limited and expensive print options, a re-tread of an earlier website, dodgy reviews, highly yearly charges and more. There is definitely a space in the print on demand market for a service that leaves more money in authors’ pockets, but unfortunately books.by might not be the one.
No Feeding the AI, say Australian Authors
Publishers and authors were outraged when Google scanned millions of books for search purposes without permission. Many publishers sued Google and the cases went on for several years. The scanned books remain online and Google won some of the most important cases. The latest tech raid on published content seems much more insidious. Meta used the full text of many published books to ‘train’ its own LLM (Large Language Model), and other AI startups have been engaged in similar activities. Author reactions have been overwhelmingly negative.
Authors, Privacy and the Law
Richard Potter SC, defamation and privacy legal expert, has written an interesting paper on the current state of privacy law. In the introduction to the paper, he writes that:
“Australia has been an outlier for many years within Western legal jurisdictions by declining to introduce laws regarding serious invasions of privacy (outside existing personal data protection laws). The changes, to come into effect on 10 June 2025 throughout Australia, will almost certainly require publishers to engage in careful scrutiny of nonfiction publications – especially biographies and true crime.”
and in the conclusion:
“As with defamation, my advice is always to step back and imagine you are the person affected and try to stand in their shoes. Is it truly private and personal? Does the individual sometimes seek self-publicity? Is the information already in the public domain? Does it involve children in any way?”
No independent author wants to be caught up in expensive legal action relating to their book. If an non-fiction author suspects some of their material may be objectionable to other parties, she/he should seriously consider obtaining legal assistance or modifying the material in question. I have witnessed several expensive legal confrontations relating to defamation / privacy that could easily have been avoided.
East Wind, West Wind: The Books of Trevor Hay
Working Type Books has worked on several titles for Trevor Hay. Here’s an interesting summary of his varied career and writing, many of which are available from Australian Scholarly Publishing.
About the Author
Dr Trevor Hay is a scholar of comparative and intercultural literature, specialising in Chinese theatre, literature and folklore and in English language writing on China. He is a collector of antiquarian books about China, Central Asia and Tibet and has travelled and worked intermittently in China over fifty years, including a period of UNICEF literacy consultancy with ethnic minority groups, and most recently with a Chinese-Australian group researching Buddhist art in the Dunhuang caves of the Gobi. He has been an Australian Research Council researcher on the teaching of Chinese language and culture for international students and has worked with Chinese community arts and culture groups in Australia, including as narrative consultant for a historical drama society and as an expert committee member for an association for the preservation of intangible cultural heritage. He is a fluent speaker of Modern Standard Mandarin. He is currently writing his twelfth book.
Books by Trevor Hay
Tartar City Woman: Scenes from the Life of Wang Hsin-Ping, Former Citizen of China, Melbourne University Press, 1990, biography, history.
East Wind, West Wind, (with Fang Xiangshu) Penguin, 1992, biography.
Black Ice : A Story of Modern China, Trevor Hay, (with Fang Xiangshu), Indra Publishing, 1997, novel, historical fiction.
China’s Proletarian Myth: The Revolutionary Narrative and Model Theatre of the Cultural Revolution, Lambert Academic Publishing, 2008, Chinese theatre and politics.
A Dream of Red Dragonflies. A Strange Tale of China, the World — and a Third Place, Tantanoola, Australian Scholarly Publishing, 2016, novel.
Letters from a Floating Life, Tantanoola, Australian Scholarly Publishing, 2017, novel.
The Secret of the Lunar Rainbow, Tantanoola, Australian Scholarly Publishing, 2018, novel.
Redgrave’s Ghost, Tantanoola, Australian Scholarly Publishing, 2019, novel.
The Tengu: Tales from the Temple of Ordinary Terrors, Tantanoola, Australian Scholarly Publishing, novel, 2020.
The Library of Lost Horizons. An Antiquarian Voyage, Arden, Australian Scholarly Publishing, 2023.
The Man who Loved Dragons. My China Curios and the Gates of Dreams, Arden, Australian Scholarly Publishing, 2024.
A Realm of Superheroes with Alisa Beagley
Alisa Beagley writes and illustrates action-packed books set in a world of superheroes and supervillains. Her latest book, Clash of the Powers is out soon and follows on from Captives of the Killer and Second Chances.
Alisa promotes and sells her books via her well-designed and informative website.
IngramSpark Pricing Update
Print on demand behemoth IngramSpark has updated their pricing, with the following points covered in their release:
Effective April 1, 2025, IngramSpark will adjust print-on-demand pricing.
What this change means for you:
Pricing adjustments will result in some books costing more, while others will cost less. View our complete pricing and services guide, including any available discounts here.
Black and white books are now priced more competitively, offering even greater affordability.
Higher discounts are available on books you purchase from us directly.
Ultra-premium color books are now eligible for discounts. Ultra-premium color features offset-quality color printing achieved through a toner printer, making this option perfect for titles rich in images and illustrations.
Books enabled for distribution gain access to our global distribution network of over 45,000 retailers, librarians, universities and educators and are assessed a 1.5% market access fee.
Service fees remain unchanged:
FREE title setup. Upload your books for free*.
FREE revisions on new books. Revise your book within 60 days of the book’s first production date and you will not be charged a revision fee.
Simplified shipping for orders printed and shipped within the United States with standard and basic options.
Beginning February 15th, you can use our publisher compensation calculator to see what you’ll earn for books sold after March 31, 2025. You may want to consider a list price adjustment on your books to maintain your current publisher compensation rates. Need help making a list price change? View our help article.
Alternatives to IngramSpark include Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing, Lulu and BookBaby.
Alternatives to IngramSpark include Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing, Lulu and BookBaby.
What is a Business Book For
Business coach , author and social media expert Andrew Ford gives his take on the purpose of a business book:
“A book is a great resource as it establishes the author as an expert on the topic and someone who has a lot of intellectual property. The books we create with clients are all to support their existing businesses and not to sell as a way to independently make revenue. The amount of book sales necessary to get a return on investment of your time, effort and money to create a book, isn’t worthwhile. We make the returns from speaking, consulting and coaching clients based on the materials in the book. “
Andrew’s latest book detailing his 12-step e-ttraction method is out now.
The Three Rings of Editing Power, and One Editor to Bind Them
Author and experienced editor Euan Mitchell explains the three levels of editing, and why all are important. Taken with permission from Euan’s excellent book “Your Book Publishing Options”, published by Overdog Press, and available as an ebook here, Alternatively, you can buy a printed copy directly from Euan for $35 (including postage within Australia).
1. Structural Editing
Also known as ‘substantive editing’, structural editing concentrates on the overall structure of a manuscript – the big picture, not the details yet.A structural editor assesses the content of a manuscript and the way it is presented, including order and length of chapters, consistency of writing style and choice of language throughout, the sense of flow between sections, and the overall clarity with which a writer has pursued their intentions.
A good structural editor can be the most valuable ally a writer has during the publishing process. This does not mean the structural editor merely lavishes praise over the entire manuscript, indeed, serious restructuring may be suggested. This can be confronting for the writer, even with the most diplomatic of editors. The writer might feel like bursting into tears. It can feel like having the wind knocked out of you. But that doesn’t mean the advice is to be avoided. On the contrary, carefully considered insights from a good structural editor may be precisely what a writer needs to hear in order to raise their work to a higher level. Think of it as tough love. Patience, open-mindedness and diplomacy from both editor and writer are the keys to working through a structural edit. This is easy to say, but often hard to remember in the heat of the moment when an editor is recommending substantial changes to a manuscript in which a writer has invested months or years of their life. The changes may mostly be reasonable, but emotions can still be difficult to manage.To complicate matters, a writer is not expected to passively accept all suggestions. Structural editors are not always right. And there can be unfortunate personality clashes. But writers should not stonewall every recommendation because they don’t like an editor’s manner. A balance needs to be struck through thoughtful negotiation. Remember to breathe and take your time to consider a different point of view, not lapse into knee-jerk defensiveness.
2. Copyediting
After the structural editing, the copyediting begins. This primarily involves fixing spelling, grammar and punctuation. Small publishers may have the same editor for structural editing and copyediting, but larger publishers often pass the manuscript to another editor. The copyeditor will read through the manuscript sentence by sentence, making corrections. This is why copyediting is sometimes referred to as ‘line editing’. There is a grey area between structural editing and copyediting. A copyeditor may still request numerous paragraphs be moved, rewritten or even deleted just when the writer thought all structural issues had been resolved. Patience, open-mindedness and diplomacy will once again be needed.
Fortunately, however, most rewriting at the copyediting stage usually requires improvements at the sentence level. Certain long sentences may be clearer if broken up into two or three sentences. Too many short sentences may flow better if synthesised into longer sentences. And, ofcourse, within each sentence the grammar, spelling and punctuation will be scrutinised.
A copyeditor will also look for inconsistencies in details that the structural editor may have missed. The spelling of certain names may vary slightly. A sequence of actions may be missing a crucial step. The accent of a character may inexplicably change. The writer may unintentionally repeat certain phrases that become irritating verbal ‘tics’.
This is usually the most time-consuming of all three levels of editing.Some changes may not be a simple matter of right or wrong, but require further consultation between copyeditor and writer. Set aside as much time as practical to address ‘author queries’ from the copyeditor. It will be time well spent.
3. Proofreading
This is the ‘final filter’ of the editing process. Even the best copyeditors can leave behind careless errors. They are human, too. So after the edited manuscript has been laid out by a designer or typesetter to look like the pages of a finished book, another person is usually contracted to proofread print-outs of the pages to clean up any final errors.
Proofreaders occasionally suggest a sentence be reworded, but usually they stick to obvious inconsistencies and mistakes. ‘Thai-poes’ can undermine the credibility of a book and possibly mean a reprint if a misspelling inadvertently causes offence.
You don’t want these sorts of distractions from your otherwise brilliant manuscript, so don’t cut corners on proofreading as some publishers unfortunately do. Even if this means, in addition to the publisher’s proofreader, you also proofread the pages one final time when you probably won’t feel like doing so.
Ampersand Prize is open to Self Published Titles
If you write or publish in the YA or middle grade space, you might be interested in entering Hardie Grant’s Ampersand Prize. Details below. Dates are for 2024 — no doubt the 2025 dates will be similar.
Eligibility
We accept submissions from any person who has not previously had a young adult, middle-grade or graphic novel published by a trade publishing house anywhere in the world. If you have had a picture book, general fiction (for adults), educational or non-fiction title published, you are still eligible. Submissions must be entered at Submittable.com (link will become live July 1) and all required fields must be completed before submission. Writers will be required to submit a one-page synopsis with their manuscript, as well as a 100-word explanation of why they wrote the book (used only for context).
If you are a self-published author, you are eligible to submit a manuscript provided you follow submission guidelines, and note in your cover letter whether the submitted manuscript has been self-published already. If it has, please remove it from sale for the duration of the Ampersand Prize (from 1 July 2024 until the shortlist is announced). By entering your manuscript, you agree to contract all publishing rights, including print and digital, if selected as the winner. Note that we do not accept ePub or Mobi files as submissions.
Key dates:
Submissions open: 1-31 July 2024
Shortlist announced: November 2024
Winner announced: December 2024
Library Thing Might Be Your Thing
If you love both books and being organised, this site may be of interest. Library Thing allows users to catalogue all of their books plus movies and music, and keep track of their reading progress, along with linking to like-minded bibliophiles and finding new titles to peruse. Also available in App form on Apple and Android.
Features include
Add books, movies and music from Amazon, the Library of Congress and 4,941 other libraries.
Track your reading progress, rate and review.
See detailed charts and stats about your library and reading life.
Find your new favorite book with personalized recommendations.
A warm and welcoming community of nearly three million book lovers.
Our Early Reviewers program offers over 3,000 free, early-release books every month.
Should AI make Authors Lives Easier?
Can an AI be a useful tool for authors, or a crutch that prevents an author from using their own judgement and enhancing their writing skills. Can AI give us agency, or rob us of it? No doubt the answer is both or either. Independent author expert Joanne Penn raises this interesting topic, with the assistance of Grok, the resident AI on X. I suspect the main problem will be (or already is) the absolute tidal wave of AI enabled and initiated content that will wash through the publishing world, much of which will be complete forgettable rubbish. The desire of most readers to read stories about humans for humans may be a difficult one to satisfy. Amplifying the already near-infinite supply of content will not assist with the long-term problem of declining readership. With many people welded to their phones and compulsively watching extremely short-form videos, the sight of a person reading an actual book or even an e-reader is rare enough to be remarkable.
Web Vision Solutions -- online marketing for Authors
Independent authors often lack a plan for promoting their books and author brand online. Vanity Press publishers and others charge exorbitant fees for very uncertain results in this space. We approached local online marketing expert Ilana van Geijn and asked her if she could put together some affordable marketing packages designed for authors. She obliged and the results were as follows, with the associated introduction:
At Web Vision Solutions, we’ve been assisting our clients for over 10 years to create and establish a strong online presence to enhance brand recognition, elevate business and personal profiles, and drive sales of services and/or products.
As authors, we understand your specific needs. Our Book Marketing Professional team member has over 15 years experience, and teamed with my passion of creating and enhancing clients' online businesses, we combine our knowledge to craft a tailored strategy for you as an author. With a proven track record of collaborating with self published, traditionally published, USA Today and New York Times Best-Selling Authors, as well as small publishers, we ensure that every project we undertake meets the highest standards.
Ilana van Geijn
Founder, Web Vision Solutions
Some of the packages available are:
Book Launch and Marketing Strategy Packages — full and half
Amazon Publishing Package
NetGalley Promotion
Information For Ingram Spark Users
Websites, Social Media & More...
The full document can be downloaded here.
To get in touch with Web Vision Solutions:
To book in for a Discovery Call with Ilana, please click here.
Alternatively, please email us at info@webvisionsolutions.com and we will
connect with you within 24-48 hours.
5 of the Best Site Design Tools for an Effective Online Author Presence
Guest Contributor: Eleanor Hecks
Grabbing readers’ attention in a crowded publishing marketspace grows more complex with each passing year. Authors must get their work in front of a target audience via various channels, such as social media, online groups, newsletters and websites. Ensuring the site is a stellar example of the writer’s brand helps drive engagement and develop a lasting reader/writer relationship.
Developing an online presence that attracts ideal readers means maintaining brand consistency across all those channels and especially websites, which serve as a writer’s home base. Fortunately, many site design tools are available that are simple to use, even without coding knowledge, and will give an author’s site a professional look.
1. Shopify
Shopify boasts over 4.5 million live stores in more than 170 countries. The platform’s flexibility makes it popular with people who want to sell their products online. Many authors have griped on group forums about Amazon’s stranglehold on electronic publishing. They have been at the retail giant’s mercy if they want to accept ebook returns or judge pages on Kindle Unlimited reads as being fraudulent.
In recent years, experts have pushed authors to go wide and sell books on various sites to avoid putting all their eggs into one basket. Shopify makes the process simpler.
2. Wix
For authors who aren’t very techy, adding a site through Wix is simple. They can even take out a domain name and attach it to their pages. However, users should be aware of a few limitations with third-party sites, such as the upgrade fees and cookie-cutter designs.
While authors can customize Wix designs, they still look the same. Creative people often see repetition as a drawback. Still, if a writer needs a quick and easy way to get the word out about books, Wix is an excellent solution.
3. Facebook Page
Today’s published authors sometimes forgo the traditional website and select a Facebook page as their main means of communication with readers. They can even point a domain name to the page if they’d like, update it with photos and videos, and engage directly with their followers.
Researchers found that 76% of consumers plan to keep buying from brands they feel more connected to. By keeping up with a social media site, writers can simultaneously keep up with comments and share personal information that fosters connection with their readers.
4. Ucraft
Similar to sites such as Squarespace and Wix, Ucraft offers another option for authors wanting to get online quickly and establish their presence. One thing a lot of people like about the design platform is that users can sell their products in over 100 markets. Also, buyers can pay in multiple ways, including crypto, PayPal, Square and Stripe.
Ucraft offers templates that users can customize with their images and text. Writers can also create downloads of their products so people can pay and gain instant access to the book. A website can look professional when combined with design tools like Canva, Book Brush and Adobe Creative Cloud for unique images.
5. WordPress
Experts estimate there are around 151,200 authors and writers in the United States. Selecting the perfect platform and theme to showcase talent is challenging. Although prebuilt sites offer convenience, they might not give the level of customization required to truly stand out.
Another option is to lease hosting space through a shared provider, install a WordPress content management system (CMS) on the site and design something unique. Authors may want to work alongside a designer for a custom solution, but using WP to post unique content is as easy as tapping into Google Docs or Microsoft Word.
Writers can choose a free theme on WordPress.org, pay to license a professionally designed theme or work with a designer to customize the site’s look, colors and layout.
Why a Website?
A website is a bridge that connects readers and authors, driving engagement and loyalty. Writers who want raving fans who buy every book they release must work to communicate with them through storytelling, chats and interactive elements on their sites. Authors should look at their websites and digital footprint, which share the tale of who they are and where they're going. Hopefully, book sales follow along and show the connection between authors and readers.
About the Author
Eleanor Hecks is a writer and web designer who is passionate about helping other writers grow their online presence. Her work can be found on her site Designerly, as well as publications such as IndependentPublishing.com and I Need a Book Cover.
Draft2Digital: a good idea for independent authors?
Draft2Digital offers a very cost-effective distribution route for ebooks (print on demand also, but that service is still in beta, for various reasons). Its sale channels cover all of the large ebook retailers. It has a very simple and attractive service proposition:
We are Self-Publishing with Support. Your book is your priority. Our priority is you. We build tools and services that let you focus on writing while we take care of layout, publishing, distribution, print-on-demand paperbacks, and more. Keep writing. We’re here for the rest.
In a long and very informative blog post, author services firm Reedsy describes them as “The gold standard for self-publishing aggregators, Draft2Digital distinguishes itself with excellent customer service and a user-friendly interface. They’re the best way to sell your book with dozens of retailers without tearing your hair out.”
Kindlepreneur also has a largely positive review that dives into the details of uploading a new title and how the royalty payments and update fees work.
Users discuss vcry specific pros and cons of the service on a reddit thread. Important note: the 10% Draft2Digital fee is charged on retail price, not on profit, and comes on top of the share taken by the end seller.
Writers Weekly has published a number of very negative user reviews that indicate some administrative problems.
Plenty of users had complaints about the non-payment of royalties.
Draft2Digital books cannot access Amazon advertising or other Amazon sales tools.
In summary, a service that will be useful to many authors, but go in with your eyes open and aware of the moderate drawbacks, especially the Amazon advertising issue.