DREAMHOST
Here are the slides from my presentation with Ruth Schwartz on Everything Amazon:
It was — as always — a great meeting! If you have any questions about any of the slides, please comment.
ETA: The URL for CreateSpace (slides 8–12) should be http://createspace.com, not createspace.amazon.com.
This past Saturday at BAIPA, I led a roundtable about the reasons that every independent author and publisher (as well as every “dependent” author) needed to have an active presence on Goodreads.com. It was one of three roundtable sessions at the time, and I assumed that most BAIPA folks (who are pretty savvy) would already know most of what I had to say. I was surprised to find that not only did they not, but they were very hungry to hear about the world’s largest book review site
Because they all found the material I presented to be helpful, I thought I’d share my major points here. This is why you have to be on Goodreads: Continue reading Authors: 6 Reasons You Have to Be on Goodreads
Here’s your chance to hear Stillpoint author Lynn Bornstein read from her critically acclaimed debut book, Laura English!
On September 20, Bornstein will read from her novel of romance, glamour, and intrigue, which Readers’ Favorite called “a must read,” at the Larkspur Public Library. Afterward, she will stay to answer questions and sign books. Continue reading Lynn Bornstein to read Laura English at Larkspur Library
What’s better than a hot new book? How about a chance to win a hot new book for free? This week only, Stillpoint Digital Press is giving away copies of The Law & the Heart, the debut collection by Nebula-nominated author Kenneth Schneyer.
As part of this weekend’s launch festivities, we will be holding a drawing on Goodreads, the world’s largest online site for book readers, reviews, and recommendations. To sign up for your chance to win a new first-of-the-first paperback copy of this exciting collection that science fiction legend Kim Stanley Robinson has called “brilliant and delightful,” go to the giveaway page and click the Enter to Win button!
The drawing will be held on the day of the presentation of the Science Fiction Writers of America’s Nebula Award ceremony — sign up now to get your copy, or join author Kenneth Schneyer and Stillpoint publisher David Kudler at the Nebula book signing event on Friday, May 16 to pick up your autographed copy. Continue reading Giveaway: The Law & the Heart
Do you know the way to San Jose? Join author Kenneth Schneyer and Stillpoint publisher David Kudler for the official launch of The Law & the Heart on Friday evening, May 16 at the Nebula Awards book-signing!
The signing will be from 8:00pm–10:00pm at the San Jose Marriot. The event is open to the public, so you don’t have to attend the conference to be among the first to get your copy of Ken’s exciting new book — though of course, you’re also welcome to attend. While you’re there, you’ll have the opportunity to meet some of the other best science fiction writers in the world.
For more information or to sign up for our launch event, go to the event page on Facebook.
To find out more about the Science Fiction Writers of America or to register to attend the Nebulas, go to their page here.
See you there!
So I’ve written about what you should put at the back of your ebook. Over on LinkedIn, Denise Wakeman raised the issue, sparking an excellent discussion. (She suggested a great possibility that I hadn’t thought of: an opt-in link for your newsletter/mailing list.)
The discussion then turned to what should go at the front of an ebook.
You know those pages at the front of a print book that get lowercase roman numerals instead of regular arabic page numbers — the boring stuff that you usually flip through so you can start reading? That’s called the book’s front matter.
Now, tradition has set the front matter of print books fairly rigidly for a while now. According to my trusty Chicago Manual of Style, it runs something like this, with each item given a separate page or section: half-title page, series title or frontispiece, title page, copyright page, dedication, epigraph, table of contents (TOC), list of illustrations, list of tables, foreword, preface, acknowledgements, introduction (unless it’s part of the body of the book). Then you get, you know, the book. (Except for the title page and copyright page, these are all optional, by the way.)
In an ebook, where navigation can be non-linear, we often move some of the less essential, bulkier bits (i.e., TOC, lists of illustrations and tables) to the back, trusting that the reader will be able to find them easily using the Contents button. (I often link to the appropriate entry in the list of illustrations from the image’s caption.) The half-title page (the one often signed by authors and gift-givers) has been jettisoned. Not too many ebook signings.
You’ll notice, however, that there’s a commonly used section that’s missing from that list, and it became a major topic of debate in the LinkedIn discussion: blurbs. Continue reading 1 Thing That SHOULDN'T Go at the Front of Your Ebook
So I’ve written about what you should put at the back of your ebook. Over on LinkedIn, Denise Wakeman raised the issue, sparking an excellent discussion. (She suggested a great possibility that I hadn’t thought of: an opt-in link for your newsletter/mailing list.)
The discussion then turned to what should go at the front of an ebook.
You know those pages at the front of a print book that get lowercase roman numerals instead of regular arabic page numbers — the boring stuff that you usually flip through so you can start reading? That’s called the book’s front matter.
Now, tradition has set the front matter of print books fairly rigidly for a while now. According to my trusty Chicago Manual of Style, it runs something like this, with each item given a separate page or section: half-title page, series title or frontispiece, title page, copyright page, dedication, epigraph, table of contents (TOC), list of illustrations, list of tables, foreword, preface, acknowledgements, introduction (unless it’s part of the body of the book). Then you get, you know, the book. (Except for the title page and copyright page, these are all optional, by the way.)
In an ebook, where navigation can be non-linear, we often move some of the less essential, bulkier bits (i.e., TOC, lists of illustrations and tables) to the back, trusting that the reader will be able to find them easily using the Contents button. (I often link to the appropriate entry in the list of illustrations from the image’s caption.) The half-title page (the one often signed by authors and gift-givers) has been jettisoned. Not too many ebook signings.
You’ll notice, however, that there’s a commonly used section that’s missing from that list, and it became a major topic of debate in the LinkedIn discussion: blurbs. Continue reading 1 Thing That SHOULDN’T Go at the Front of Your Ebook
Stillpoint Digital Press has released Laura English, the debut novel of glamour, intrigue, and heartbreak by author Lynn Arias Bornstein.
A fairy tale of Hollywood glamour that shows that even the most blessed lives may not have the happily-ever-after that we would expect, Laura English follows the life and loves of a young British actress who rises to fame and yet struggles to find what she actually needs. By turns heart-warming and heart-wrenching, funny and tragic, this novel takes you on a journey around the world and into the deepest recesses of the human heart.
This is a book of joy, loss, rejection, as well as fear and happiness. The author weaves a complicated web of intrigue, passion, and profound loss, which I found captivating. Definitely a must-read. — Patricia Day for Readers’ Favorite
Laura English is available in trade soft-cover and ebook formats through Stillpoint Digital Press, through IndieBound and independent bookstores, Amazon, Barnes and Noble. Apple’s iBooks Store, and wherever else you buy books.
Continue reading Laura English by Lynn Arias Bornstein — Now at a Bookstore Near You!
Last week, I gave an interview to Inkspokes, a website dedicated to independent authors and their readers. The interviewer, Nelson Suit, who is one of the editors at Inkspokes, asked me a number of questions about my own experiences as an author who published his own work, but then asked me — as both a writer and a publisher of others’ writing — what would be my advice for folks who were looking at self-publishing. Well, a lot of people who are smarter than I am have given thought to that subject, but after considering the question for a bit, here’s what I came up with:
DK: My two biggest pieces of advice will both seem a bit heretical.
The first is that self-publishing doesn’t mean that you have do everything yourself — or that you should. The chairman of Penguin/Random House doesn’t copyedit every book, nor does he try to design his own covers. He’s your competition. Budget in the time and (if you can) the money to outsource the parts of the work of publishing that you really can’t (or as I said shouldn’t) handle yourself.
The places where you will really serve yourself best by finding someone else to help out? Highly technical processes like print layout and cover design. It’s possible to create your own ebooks if your work is narrative and doesn’t include much in the way of complicated formatting or images.
You should absolutely have editors at each of the three stages of editing — development (before the “final” draft is finished); copyediting (after you’re done developing the book but before you’ve had it laid out); and proofreading (after layout/conversion and just before publication). Do you have to hire professionals? I’m not unbiased, I recognize, but I highly recommend it.
I had the opportunity to talk recently with Inkspokes, a site for indie authors and their readers — we discussed some of the joys (and pitfalls) of independent publishing. The interview is out, and I think it’s pretty interesting, if I do say so myself!
Here’s a snippet to whet your appetite:
Books are infinitely perfectible. The traditional publishing process and a bazillion MFA writing programs have conditioned us to think that no book is ever ready — that they must be workshopped and rewritten and workshopped again. And again.
Continue reading Interview — David Kudler on Independent Publishing
