Book Baby Blog
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Founded in 2011, BookBaby has grown to become the nation's leading self-publishing company. Led by a crew of authors, poets, bloggers, and artists, BookBaby is dedicated to helping all writers publish successfully. How to self-publish your book, distribute your book, and promote your book. Professional writing tips from BookBaby.com to guide you through how to make a book.
Book Baby Blog
2d ago
By BookBaby author Michael Gallant
Estimated reading time: 1 minute
Experiment with this time-honored storytelling format and see where your creativity takes you.
Many of our most beloved books follow a similar path.
First, an old world is invoked or a new one created. Characters are introduced along with their relationships and surroundings. Something metaphorically explodes into something else, and we begin to understand why the story was written in the first place.
Second, the characters respond and take action. They learn new things as we learn more about them. Intensity increases and the ..read more
Book Baby Blog
1w ago
By BookBaby author Scott McCormick
Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
First-person narration is a mode of storytelling in which the narrator is a character in the story and tells the story from their point of view. Just like in the real world, the narrator only knows their own thoughts, as opposed to a third-person omniscient narrator who knows the thoughts of every character.
Table of Contents:
• The pros of writing in first person
• It adds a level of realism
• You can add depth and complexity with an unreliable narrator
• You can plunge readers into yo ..read more
Book Baby Blog
2w ago
By BookBaby author Brian Jud
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
Think of the top brands in any industry. What do they have in common? For one, they create an identifiable “personality” that distinguishes them from competitive products and services so their brand promise can be easily communicated and understood.
Table of Contents:
• Develop a brand statement
1. Define your purpose
2. Perform a self-assessment
3. Develop your personal brand with intention
4. Construct your personal narrative
5. Embody your brand
You need to do the same thing and create a personal brand as an author that distin ..read more
Book Baby Blog
2w ago
By BookBaby author Lee Purcell
Estimated reading time: 8 minutes
How strange can you get before you lose all hope of keeping your readers engaged? Every writer who embraces absurdist fiction faces the dilemma: How do I stretch the form without breaking it?
Table of Contents:
• Components of an absurdist novel
• Jonathan Abernathy You Are Kind by Molly McGhee
• Killing Commendatore by Haruki Murakami
• Something Happened by Joseph Heller
• Vineland by Thomas Pynchon
• Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
• Guidelines for writing absurdist fiction
Your instinct as a writer may help set some guideline ..read more
Book Baby Blog
2w ago
By BookBaby author Scott McCormick
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
Choosing the correct keywords for your eBook and printed book is vital to its success. Book and author SEO are important to consider for your online book marketing strategy. When Amazon users search for books, the platform uses keywords to match relevant results to their search queries. Studies show that the top 3-4 search results — often determined by Amazon’s best-sellers ranking — are the ones that have the best chance of selling. If you want your book to be discoverable by targeted readers, you need to choose the best Ama ..read more
Book Baby Blog
2w ago
By BookBaby author Philip Kinsher
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
Great stories come in all sizes, shapes, and colors. Some writers tell fascinating stories that lead the reader through intricate plot twists while others delve deep into a character’s evolution from first word to final sentence.
Table of Contents:
• What is a plot-driven story?
• What is a character-driven story?
• Key differences between plot-driven and character-driven stories
• Focus of the narrative
• Examples of plot-driven and character-driven stories
• Tips for writing plot-driven and character-driven stories
Knowing ..read more
Book Baby Blog
3w ago
By BookBaby author Philip Kinsher
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
Great stories come in all sizes, shapes, and colors. Some writers tell fascinating stories that lead the reader through intricate plot twists while others delve deep into a character’s evolution from first word to final sentence.
Table of Contents:
• What is a plot-driven story?
• What is a character-driven story?
• Key differences between plot-driven and character-driven stories
• Focus of the narrative
• Examples of plot-driven and character-driven stories
• Tips for writing plot-driven and character-driven stories
Knowing ..read more
Book Baby Blog
3w ago
By BookBaby author Lisa Taylor
Estimated reading time: 9 minutes
The sense of completion, wonder, and elation when you finish the first draft of your story is often followed by a deep sense of uncertainty. Is it any good? What needs work? What happens next?
Table of Contents:
• Before you self-edit
• From finished draft to reader-ready
• Step 1: Prepare
• Step 2: Evaluate your story
• Step 3: Focus on prose
• Embrace the self-editing process
Whether you are considering traditional or self-publishing, you want to ensure your story is the best it can be before taking the next steps. Following ..read more
Book Baby Blog
1M ago
By BookBaby author Janna Lopez
Estimated reading time: 8 minutes
Have you ever read a book or watched a television show and you just knew a main character was going to do something detrimental to themselves or someone they loved? In most cases, the character can’t help themselves; we may see the flaw and be aware of impending doom while the character goes about their business of intentional or unintentional sabotage. We have character flaws to thank for these moments.
Table of Contents:
• What is a character flaw?
• Exploring the types of character flaws
• Minor character flaws
• Major charac ..read more
Book Baby Blog
1M ago
By BookBaby author Lauren Davish
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
In the Wild Wild West that is the modern Internet, standing out as an author involves having more than just a professional author website and book distribution. Optimizing your online presence for search engines (search engine optimization aka SEO) is crucial to ensuring your book is discoverable by interested readers.
Table of Contents:
• Introduction to SEO for authors
• Effective keyword research for your book
• Optimizing your meta description
• Personalizing your author biography
• Supporting SEO with marketing campaigns ..read more