Which do you think is more difficult – naming your child or naming your book? Truthfully, either can hold immense influence over the future. Your book title is the first stage of your marketing plan. It will either intrigue readers and urge them to find out more, or it will turn them away in disinterest. With that in mind, here is a quick guide to writing book titles. While your title is important to your book marketing, that doesn’t mean you should go overboard either. Your title is not the place for your impeccable SEO skills where you throw keywords at the wall and see if they stick like sp ..read more

As you finish your manuscript, it’s time to think about designing your book. Remember, just because you are self-publishing a book, doesn’t mean your book should look self-published. In fact, it’s just the opposite. The more professionally designed your book, the more credibility you’ll have with it. You are very near completion, and now is not the time to take shortcuts or cut back on your budget. The Design Elements of a Book The two parts of your book design that you’ll need to complete to get your book to print are the cover and the interior. The same designer can complete these, or your ..read more

Getting started is often the hardest part of anything, whether you are looking to run a marathon or write a book. Writing a book doesn’t need to be hard, but you do need a commitment, some consistency, and a determination to reach the finish line. If you’ve been contemplating writing a book for some time and are ready to make the leap, here are some tips to take you from idea to print.   Decide What Type of Book You are Writing Many people have an idea for a book but are unsure of what type of book they are actually writing. For example, if you want to write a children’s book, there’s a b ..read more

If you’ve ever dreamed of writing a novel, now’s your chance to do it with free support. Approximately 400,000 people are expected to start novels as part of NaNoWriMo, this November. The idea is to write a 50,000-word novel in a month, which is almost 1,667 words a day. You can register on www.nanowrimo.org. Signing up is the easy part. The question is: Can you write a book in a month and survive? Yes, with some helpful hints, it can be done. Tips for success Plan for it. Some writers swear by planning out plots in advance, but you don’t have to. What I really mean is plan out your day. Wher ..read more

It’s become easier to self-publish your book over the last few years, however, easier doesn’t mean that you should compromise on quality and book production. Just because you can turn out your book faster, create your own book cover online, and design your book in Word doesn’t mean you should! The more people who self-publish their book and cut corners when it comes to editing, design, and layout, the more it cuts the overall credibility of self-published authors in general. That’s why it’s extremely important to publish a professionally designed book, thereby, eliminating the doubt that your ..read more

What’s the difference between an Introduction, a Prologue, a Preface, and a Foreword? Can I put my Acknowledgments at the end? Where do I put my Prologue? Where do I put my copyright page? Do I have to have a glossary? All valid questions. And ones that, when organized properly and professionally, will give your book the professional look and feel that will make readers, reviewers, and book buyers take it seriously. Please note that all books are different and this is meant to be a guide, not law. I’ve seen copyright pages in the back, many books don’t have a half-title page, and I’m personall ..read more

  I was already quite the book nerd when Kindle ebooks first entered public consciousness. My dad, “the computer guy”, was excited to tell me about the merging of our mutual interests. “Just think of it,” he told me “you could have hundreds of books on one little device! Think of how convenient that is. In the future, books aren’t going to be on paper anymore.” With my lifelong dream of having a Beauty and the Beast-esque library with a ladder in mind, I was shocked. “That will never happen. What about old book smell? What about the sound of turning a page? The sound of snapping a hardco ..read more

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