April 28, 2020

Familiar but Unique: The First Rule of Selling Your Novel

By Paul Goat Allen

I’ve had enough conversations with publishers, agents, editors, and writers over the last few decades to know that for fiction releases—and genre fiction releases in particular—to have any chance at being commercially successful, those novels need to be familiar but unique.

Sounds like a contradiction, right? But it makes perfect […]

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April 21, 2020

5 Ways a Bad Back Cover Blurb Can Kill a Good Book

By Paul Goat Allen

This may sound crazy but the back cover blurb for your novel—essentially a synoptic teaser—just may be the most important part of your self-published book. Here’s why: Some readers out there will buy a book solely on cover art—and cover art is hugely significant for that reason—but the vast majority […]

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August 20, 2018

Working with an editor: 10 invaluable tips

By Madeleine Dodge

You close your manuscript, lean back, and sigh with relief: You’ve finally finished writing your book. Then suddenly, you’re jerked out of your reverie when you realize: It’s time to send my manuscript to an editor! How will you ever find the courage to push “send”?

We […]

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August 6, 2018

Oh, the Mistakes We’ve Seen!: children’s picture books

By Madeleine Dodge

“Oh, the Mistakes We’ve Seen!” is part of a series of BlueInk Review blogs offering advice and insight into self-published writers’ most common errors, as seen in the more than 6,000 reviews of self-published books that we have provided since our inception in 2011.  Below, we have compiled excerpts […]

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July 23, 2018

10 tips for hosting a successful book launch

By Madeleine Dodge

 You’ve written your book and completed the hard work of producing it. Finally, it’s time to release it into the world. In other words, it’s time for a book launch.

 Hosting your book launch party is arguably the best part of publishing a book. You finally get to […]

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