Blog Posts
Check out my blogs posts about various writing, self publishing, and marketing topics:
All writing topics: http://www.karenbaney.com/topics/writing
Marketing: http://www.karenbaney.com/topics/writing/marketing-writing
Self Publishing: http://www.karenbaney.com/topics/writing/self-publishing
Self Publishing Sites
Kindle Direct Publishing - Amazon’s self publishing site for Kindle books.
Barnes & Noble PubIt - Barnes & Noble self publishing site for Nook books.
Kobo Writing Life – Kobo’s self publishing site. One of the largest eBook distributors in Canada.
Smashwords - self publishing with Smashwords. They are a publisher and distributor. I use them to distribute eBooks for Sony eReader, Apple, Diesel and others.
BookBaby – Distributor for ebooks to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple, and more.
Create Space – Print on demand company that you can use to self publish paperback copies of your book. Depending on the options you select, your book will become available on Amazon.
15 Easy Steps for Publishing to Kindle – My blog post about how to publish to Kindle.
Paperback Formatting Guidelines for Self Publishers – My article on how to make your paperback edition look professional.
Author Must Haves
Goodreads – Book lovers community. I strongly encourage authors to set up an author account on Goodreads. You can list giveaways (organized by Goodreads) for upcoming and recently published books. You can also link your blog and check out reviews of your book. If you’re also a publisher, you can make an epub version of your books for sale. Please refer to Goodread’s terms and conditions for a current list of the services and options provided to authors.
Amazon Author Central – Upload a photo and bio. Add a link to your blog and twitter accounts. Double check to make sure your books are properly assigned to you. Read customer reviews. NOTE: If your paperback and kindle editions are showing up on separate pages on Amazon, you can to go the Help page on Author Central and submit a request to have them combined. Just follow the on screen instructions. They are pretty quick to respond (mine were updated within 24 hours).
Affiliate Program Links – My guest post on Joshua Bedford’s site about the affiliate programs with Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other distributors. Authors, this is a great way to make a few extra cents on every sale that comes as a direct result of your marketing efforts.
Everyone wants to know how to use twitter. Here are some articles that I found extremely helpful on learning how to use twitter effectively.
Writing Killer Content in 140 Characters or Less
The Ultimate Twitter Guide - Everything you need to know about how to get started. Includes links to more advanced topics as well.
Common Twitter Hash Tags for Authors
Recommended Resources for Writers
These are books about the craft of writing that I have found to be very helpful. I’ve also thrown in a few books on self-publishing and traditional publishing.