Five Reasons Being an Indie Author Makes You a Small Business
by Penny Sansevieri Being an indie author means more than just fulfilling your dream of publishing the novel that’s been rattling around in your head for years! Deciding to publish…
Columns
Critique Circles for Introverts, Formats for Editing
by Bobbie Christmas Q: I’m unhappy with my critique circle, and it took me a long time to find this one. I need advice. Our circle is open, so anyone…
How Great Book Descriptions Sell More Books
by Penny Sansevieri No matter which site you’re using to sell your books, book descriptions are more important to sales than most authors realize. Many times, I’ll see blocks of…
The Singular Their, Maintaining Flow, and Numerals
by Bobbie Christmas Q: When you edited my book you marked up many of my uses of “he or she” and “him or her.” I used that method to keep…
Shipping Agreements, I Could Care Less, and Referrals
by Bobbie Christmas Q: What is the most popular shipping agreement for when buyers want me to ship them a book? A: I don’t know what is the most popular,…
Metrics Are Worthless…So What Should You Focus on Instead?
by Penny Sansevieri In today’s tech-savvy world nearly everything can be measured by metrics: Facebook likes, Instagram or Twitter followers, YouTube video views, etc. Big data is a big industry…
Passive Voice, Who/Whom, and Journalism
by Bobbie Christmas Q: Why is using passive voice a no-no in fiction? A: Voice, when it refers to the verbs in a sentence, shows whether the subject acts (active…
How to Double Your “Yes” Responses from Book Bloggers
by Penny Sansevieri You probably have found lots of discourse on the publishing industry that boils down to one thing: it’s hopping. We certainly talk about it a lot, what…
Pseudonyms and Getting Started
by Bobbie Christmas Q: I’m publishing a book of rebuses. Should I use a pen name or my own name? I know some authors use another name when they switch…
Commas, Adverbs, and Genres
by Bobbie Christmas Q: I wonder if you’ve noticed the recent outbreak of unnecessary commas between adjectives in otherwise respectable publications (I’ve even seen it in The New York Times!)…