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, […]
July 7, 2021
By Paul Goat Allen
One of Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw’s most iconic quotes is a fitting way to begin this blog: “Don’t wait for the right opportunity: create it.”
Creating opportunity—it’s a huge deal when it comes to self-published and traditionally published writers alike. Writers may not want to be reminded of the […]
June 1, 2021
By Paul Goat Allen
There are several reasons why most traditionally published novels you pick up have a blurb prominently featured on the front or back cover. The addition of a strong blurb—an endorsement by a person of note (a well-known author or expert) or an excerpt from a professional book review—immediately establishes a perceived […]
May 11, 2021
By Rachel L’Heureux
“Trade Secrets” is an ongoing blog series in which we interview professionals working in traditional publishing to explain how they approach their jobs, in order to help self-publishers understand the intricacies of the publishing process and glean some tips.
Today we speak with Carl Lennertz about the daunting yet critical task […]
May 10, 2021
By Paul Goat Allen
BlueInk Review sat down with David Ebenbach to talk about the publishing industry, the advantages and disadvantages of putting labels on novels (and writers), and his upcoming science fiction debut How to Mars—about a reality show on Mars gone wrong—which is already in its […]
April 12, 2021
By Paul Goat Allen
Amidst the backdrop of a pandemic killing millions of people worldwide and the planet in the death throes of environmental collapse, debut novelist Elly Bangs has released a post-apocalyptic thriller that is simultaneously terrifying and hopeful. Set on a future Earth where humankind is largely relegated to existing […]
February 9, 2021
By Paul Goat Allen
So, while the content included in this blog seems to be stating the obvious—it’s not always apparent to writers who have had their heads immersed in their respective writing project for years. (Insert “can’t see the forest for the trees” idiom here.)
I’m talking about understanding reader expectation: knowing what narrative […]
