[Link] Editing for Frugal Self-Publishers

by Val Breit

Who doesn’t want to save a bit of money when they self-publish a book? Today’s guest post by Val Breit offers many cost-saving tips and resources for authors editing their books before sending them to a professional editor. If you’re not ready to have your book edited, you may want to bookmark this post and come back to it later. Enjoy!

You want to write (and sell) an amazing book, but you don’t want to spend a ton of money doing it. If you aren’t careful, the costs of self-publishing a book could run your bank account dry.

In fact, the average cost of self-publishing a book can be between a couple hundred dollars to a couple thousand dollars.

And one of the most expensive parts of publishing is editing.

Editing is not something you want to skip. With a weak storyline, the reader won’t read past the second chapter. And a book littered with grammatical errors and typos screams amateur.

So what can you do to have a professionally edited book without spending thousands of dollars?

Here are the best frugal tips for getting a talented editor to polish your book for less money.

Read the full article: https://www.thebookdesigner.com/2018/04/editing-for-frugal-self-publishers/

[Link] The Biggest Business Mistake I Ever Made

by Joel Friedlander

I didn’t know it when it happened, but it was the teleconference call that changed my life—my business life.

It was a monthly call with a mastermind group. We talked about marketing and tried to help each other get better at it.

Although my blog was becoming popular, I was struggling trying to find ways to make it profitable.

I was describing my frustration about this when one of the group members asked how my email list was doing.

“Pretty poorly, to be honest,” I replied. “I started a newsletter a few years ago, but haven’t kept it up, and there aren’t a lot of signups anyway, so why bother?”

“Well that’s your problem right there,” he said. “You’ve got great traffic, all you have to do is start building that list and you’ll be amazed at what happens next.”

He went on to give me some specific ideas about how to go about doing that.

So I started working on growing my email list, and eventually I found out my friend was right. This one effort has completely changed my business, my relationships with my peers, and the number of opportunities that are open to me.

Read the full article: http://www.thebookdesigner.com/2015/05/the-biggest-business-mistake-i-ever-made/

[Link] Creating an Author Brand to Boost Your Platform

by Matthew Turner

You all know how important a book cover is, right?

After all, you’re on Joel’s site, and if there’s one thing he discusses in detail, it’s how to create a killer cover.

But let me tell you, it’s a tough world out there, and it’s tough to get noticed.

Amazon has opened up many doors, and not just for you; the same possibilities exist for everyone.

We all have a book in us, so they say; well, now we can publish it too!

A good book cover can help you stand out, as can an author platform, and a good branding strategy, and everything else a modern author needs in their arsenal. My big question is:

How can you combine all of these different things into one consistent message?

Brand Identity, that’s how!

Continue reading: http://www.thebookdesigner.com/2012/06/creating-an-author-brand-to-boost-your-platform/