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How to Create a Book Marketing One-Sheet
If you’re getting ready begin pursuing promotional opportunities for your book, a marketing one-sheet is a valuable tool to have in your corner. A book marketing one-sheet is a concise, one-page document that helps a person or organization quickly understand what your...
How to Create a Professional Author Media Kit
If you’re an author hoping to secure media coverage through news outlets, podcasts, blogs, or professional speaking engagements, having an author media kit is essential. Think of your media kit as a one-stop resource containing everything someone might need to...
How AI Is Changing the Rules of Publishing (And What Authors Need to Know)
Regardless of where you stand on AI, one thing is clear: the publishing industry is no longer sitting on the sidelines. Behind the scenes, real changes are already happening—editors are asking new questions, bookstores are making decisions about what they will and...
AI for Authors: What to Know Before You Use It
Currently, AI is the wild, wild West of the 21st century and publishing industry professionals are on the frontlines of watching it unfold. As a publishing consultant who has worked in this industry for the past six years alongside editors and professionals with...
Indie novel Theo of Golden takes publishing world by storm
By BlueInk Staff Seeking for inspiration in the new year? Look no further than Allen Levi and his little book-that-could, Theo of Golden. Beginning life as a self-published novel, Theo of Golden took off, becoming one of 2025’s biggest selling books. Levi wasn’t...
Our favorite online tools for designing marketing materials
If you’re an indie author, you don’t just need words at your disposal. You also need design expertise. After all, once the book is written, you’ll need a host of eye-catching marketing materials, including bookmarks, postcards, book trailers, memes and much more. Not...
Need marketing help? We love these 5 websites
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, and finding ways to...
Promoting your sci-fi/fantasy book on social media: a newbie’s guide
Congratulations! You’ve completed your book—a remarkable achievement that deserves a celebration. But before you think about taking a well-deserved break, it's crucial to pivot your focus to the marketing of your book. In this ongoing blog series, we’ll provide...
Why Don’t Most Indie Anthologies Sell Well?
By Paul Goat Allen As a book buyer for Waldenbooks and an editor for B&N, Inc. back in the ‘90s and 2000s, I always sought out new anthologies to promote. In my mind, for the price of one book, a reader could experience a wide variety of stories, and a diversity...
The Ending is Everything! 6 ways to create the perfect conclusion to your novel
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...