by Ruth Lunn | Apr 11, 2018 | General
There can be many things stopping us writing the book we’ve always wanted to write. One of these is how to actually organise your time and sit down to write the book. So many people have some really great ideas for a book, but never reach the point of getting the...
by Ruth Lunn | Apr 5, 2018 | General
As a writer in the world of self-publishing, you’re up against thousands of other books. It’s a super-competitive market, so your selling strategies need to be up to scratch to get the desired result. This includes making sure that Amazon’s algorithm rules are working...
by Ruth Lunn | Mar 28, 2018 | General
Goodreads is the world’s largest website for readers, authors and book recommendations. Readers can search for new books, new authors, share reviews, and keep track of what they’ve read. And because there are so many readers on the site, it’s a great place for authors...
by Dan Brady | Feb 28, 2018 | General
I came across a great podcast just the other day, where Steve Scott – an Amazon best-selling, self-published author – shares his experience and tips. If you’re writing a book, there’s some invaluable advice in this podcast, which shouldn’t be missed. Steve Scott has...
by Ruth Lunn | Oct 17, 2017 | General
We’ve come up with a nice little analogy about your book being on Amazon. Imagine your book as a product available in a shop on a shelf somewhere; it exists but it’s not out in the open for everyone to see. Sure, people might stumble across it by chance at some point...
by Ruth Lunn | Oct 12, 2017 | General
Motivated by a promise made to Nelson Mandela to tell his story as a “true son of Africa”, President of the International Court of Arbitration and Mediation Kamil Idris has written and published his memoir, ‘My Nile Odyssey’. From growing up in Sudan as a child...
by Dan Brady | Sep 15, 2017 | General
In the UK, it’s every publisher’s obligation to send at least one copy of a published book, free of charge, to the British Library. This has been in English law for printed books and papers since 1662 (and for electronic publications since 2013). Since...
by Dan Brady | Jun 22, 2017 | Ebooks, General
When choosing categories for your Kindle ebook on Amazon, there are over 3,500 categories to choose from. Keywords are important – often it can be useful to target more specialist, niche subcategories, so that your ebook has a greater chance of ranking well. However,...
by Ruth Lunn | Oct 12, 2015 | General
One of the questions we get asked occasionally by some of our more optimistic and forward-thinking authors is in relation to film adaptation rights and I was reminded about this at the weekend when I went to see The Martian at the cinema. For those of you who don’t...
by Phoebe Bower | Aug 13, 2015 | General
If you’ve spent a great deal of time working on a project, it can be easy to fall into the trap of believing that it’s perfect. Unfortunately, this can hold you back and stop you from getting your book published if you’re sending it out to publishers and agents...
by Phoebe Bower | Jul 7, 2015 | General
Whether you are a children’s author producing a 24-page fully illustrated book, a novelist writing their 800-page magnum opus, or a local historian putting together a non-fiction guide to the region, you will need someone to help you design your book. Even children’s...
by Ruth Lunn | Jun 29, 2015 | General
You may have seen headlines recently regarding Amazon paying self-published authors per page read and been just a little bit worried. But worry not. Just to make it clear – this has nothing to do with e-book royalties. If someone buys your e-book, you will receive the...
by Ruth Lunn | Feb 12, 2015 | General
In a crowded market it’s difficult to get your book noticed. Particularly with ebooks where there isn’t even a physical printed book that you can actively show people or that can sit on a bookshop’s shelf. If your book is garnering a number of 4 or 5 star reviews...
by Ruth Lunn | Dec 8, 2014 | General
Having spent the last few years publishing other people’s books, we decided it was about time we published our own. And we’re very excited with the result! The book is inspired by true stories discovered on reddit.com of incredible people that most of us...
by Ruth Lunn | Oct 16, 2014 | General
When we heard about the story behind the story we just knew it had to be shared. One of the books we’ve published in the last month is a fictionalised account of policing in South Shields, Tyneside, in the 1920s, based on the memoirs of a serving policeman. The book,...
by Ruth Lunn | Jan 29, 2014 | General
I’ve touched on marketing in previous posts, and I’m returning to it because many new authors find this the biggest challenge of all. Short of advertising everywhere (do you want to take out a second mortgage?), it can be difficult to reach your target audience, and...
by Ruth Lunn | Oct 16, 2013 | General
This year’s Man Booker winner, The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton, is the longest novel to win the prize, at 832 pages. Robert Macfarlane, the Chair of the judges, doesn’t reckon its length will put off readers, saying, “length never poses a problem if it’s a great...
by Ruth Lunn | Oct 10, 2013 | General
Today is known as Super Thursday in the publishing world. This is the day when a huge number of books are released by publishers to bookstores in time for the Christmas market. Despite the steady drip feed of books being published throughout the year, today is simply...
by Ruth Lunn | Jul 16, 2013 | General
There’s something ever so delicious about selecting holiday reading. Some people choose long weighty tomes that they know just won’t get read in the busyness of day-to-day life. Others want something light – the classic beach read. Me? I tend to go...
by Ruth Lunn | May 14, 2013 | General
Last year was a bumper year for book sales, according to the Publishers Association, with total spend on printed and digital books rising by 4% to £3.3 billion in the UK. Digital spend was up by 66%, but physical book sales were down just 1%, and still represent 80%...