November 21, 2022
By Paul Goat Allen
As someone who has been in the self-publishing business for decades—from purchasing titles for a national book chain to reviewing thousands of self-published titles for Kirkus, BlueInk, etc. to interviewing countless self-published authors for various sites—I’ve seen cover art quality for self-published titles increase exponentially over the last few decades […]
November 9, 2022
By Paul Goat Allen
Straight from the files of Stating the Obvious comes the next BlueInk blog about the monumental importance of a novel’s conclusion. It’s a no-brainer, right? Your novel needs a memorable ending in order to have any chance at commercial success.
But then why do so many novels have weak conclusions?
[…]
July 20, 2022
By Kim Littler
If you’ve clicked on this post then you’ve probably accepted that, like it or not, social media is a key element to any author’s book marketing process — and it’s here to stay. It’s great that you’re ready to start utilizing your online profiles, but you wouldn’t be […]
June 16, 2022
By Amanda Miller
Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) platform has been an amazing tool for independently published authors to get their books into the world and hit a big market—not only swiftly but affordably. Not only is KDP’s platform easy to use, but it is ever-evolving with fresh, new developments for authors to take […]
March 14, 2022
BlueInk Review Staff
It’s not easy to write a book. And it’s even harder to sell it.
While authors know all about the mechanics of writing, they aren’t likely to be marketing experts. So how can they get the word out about their book efficiently and effectively
We asked five genre writers about their […]
March 14, 2022
By Amanda Miller
Faced with the arduous task of marketing a book, you may conclude that writing it was the easy part! Most authors—both traditionally and independently published—eventually face a laundry list of marketing tasks, including devising an overall plan, creating marketing materials (such as bookmarks, postcards, and press releases), and finding ways to […]
March 1, 2022
By Paul Goat Allen
In 2020, Brian James Gage exploded onto the genre fiction scene with The Sleepwalker, an epic alternate history blending horror, occult fantasy, and apocalyptic fiction set largely in 1916 Saint Petersburg during the reign of Nicholas II. Featuring a cast of nightmarish monstrosities, witches, badass vampire hunters, […]
January 19, 2022
By Catherine Spader
It’s a marketing jungle out there, and if you’re having trouble navigating it, you’re not alone. A full 79% of indies say marketing is the toughest part of the publishing process, according to Written Word Media’s report of its 2021 survey.
The skyrocketing numbers of books competing for […]
September 29, 2021
By Paul Goat Allen
For the last 25 years, one of the joys of my job as a book reviewer has been discovering indie releases that are so extraordinary that the impact of the reading experience resonates with me for weeks, months, and sometimes years, afterward. Novels like Stepan Chapman’s The […]
September 12, 2021
By Paul Goat Allen
Some writers are so engrossed with the minutia of their work-in-progress that they lose sight of an obvious indicator that should be a primary focus: reader experience. And a big part of that overall experience is feeling an intimate connection with the characters, feeling what they’re feeling—be it sorrow, joy, […]
