bestsellerdom

How Do Books Become Bestsellers? (Can Authors Increase Those Chances?)

Is a book's success all luck, even if 'luck' includes hitting the right subject matter at the right time, or is it marketing—and can an indie author in any way compete with a publisher?
Nielsen book sales share

The Myth About Print Coming Back (Updated)

Discussions about the "resurgence" of print and the comeback of independent bookstores amounts to wishful thinking, not an understanding of the industry.
Indie Author Fringe

Improve Book Sales Through Better Descriptions and Keyword Targeting

Is it better to have a long or short book description on Amazon? What should go in the first line? How do you research appropriate categories and keywords? Learn principles and tools to master the power of descriptions and reach your target market.
multifaceted

How Crowdfunding Allows You to Experiment Outside Your Genre

Established writers can't often—and probably shouldn’t—publish far outside of their area of expertise. It’s a fast way to alienate your existing fan base. But crowdfunding allows you to experiment outside of your genre for a project you want to see out in the world.
book distribution

How to Get Your Book Distributed: What Self-Published Authors Need to Know

The most important thing any author needs to know about book distribution is that more than half of all book sales (regardless of format) take place online.
Using NetGalley and Goodreads

Case Study: Using NetGalley and Goodreads for Book Marketing and Publicity

Sarah Miniaci at Smith Publicity and Kristina Radke at NetGalley review the marketing and publicity strategies that can help increase your book's discoverability, word-of-mouth, and reviews, using NetGalley and Goodreads in particular.
Kindle Press

How Kindle Press Made My Novel a Bestseller

In 2015, Kindle Press published about 90 novels. By the end of 2016, it had published a total of 218 books—all chosen through the Kindle Scout program.
Pronoun ebook distribution

Q&A with Pronoun: An Increasingly Competitive Ebook Distributor

Pronoun works with independent authors to distribute their ebooks to the five major online retailers: Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Google Play. Pronoun charges authors nothing upfront, and doesn't take a cut of ebook sales either.
amazon kdp select

Is Amazon Exclusivity Right for You?

There are advantages to selling ebooks only through Amazon, and makes most sense for authors who are just starting out or who are relatively unknown.
book publishing industry

Looking Back at 2016: Important Publishing Developments Authors Should Know

A round-up of important 2016 publishing news and trends that will affect authors in the years to come.
princess saves herself

A Self-Published Poet’s Path to Her First Book Deal

How a self-publishing poet achieved visibility for her book—and landed a book deal with traditional publisher Andrews McMeel.
market locally

How to Network Effectively (Even If You Hate Networking): Start Close to Home

If you want to sell books and have people read them, you have to meet other people and tell them about it. Learn the best networking strategies for people who hate networking.
Reddit book marketing

How to Use Reddit to Market Your Books (Carefully)

Reddit is an online community where you can get your book in front of hundreds of thousands of readers for free. That is, if you have the right strategy.
industry trends for authors

5 Industry Issues for Authors to Watch in 2016

The most important publishing industry headlines and stories that every writer should keep an eye on in 2016.
author business

5 Observations on the Evolution of Author Business Models

As publishing becomes increasingly digital-driven, how are the business models for authorship changing?
Digital Book World 2015 panel with Russ Grandinetti of Amazon

Amazon Discusses Kindle Unlimited & Kindle Select Participation: Digital Book World, Day 2

Amazon says that Kindle Select participation is healthy, and that the Kindle Unlimited ebook subscription service is leading to more reading and sales.
Indie Authors and the Question of Kindle Unlimited

Indie Authors and the Question of Kindle Unlimited

Old post alert! This was published in 2014 and some aspects of Kindle Unlimited have changed. If you're investigating whether
audiobooks

Indies & Audiobooks: An Alternative to ACX

If you don't like the terms offered by Amazon's ACX for selling your audiobook, you do have an alternative. Author Lee Stephen explains the path he took.
Mike Cogh / via Flickr

The Long-Term View: 3 Exciting Mind Shifts for Author Entrepreneurs

Mike Cogh / via Flickr Note from Jane: Today's guest post is from Joanna Penn (@thecreativepenn), and is based on
German book market

The German Market: A Guide for Indie Authors

Note from Jane: Today's guest post is by Beate Boeker (@BeateBoeker), whom I met at the International Women's Fiction Festival
Commodity Publishing and The Future of Fiction

Commodity Publishing, Self-Publishing, and The Future of Fiction

Many years ago, when I started working for Writer’s Digest, I was put on the self-publishing beat. I started by
Broken pencil

When Self-Publishing Is More Useful As a Marketing Tool

The turning point of my long-term publishing plans came when I realized I have very little in common with author