Despite the saying, readers do indeed judge books by their covers.

A great book cover design catches readers’ eyes and gives them an immediate understanding of the book’s genre, intended audience, and tone — and in many cases, its overall quality as well. This information then helps readers decide whether clicking on the book’s listing is worth their time. If so, they’re all the more likely to purchase the book in question.

Can you see why a great cover design is essential to your book’s success on the market?

There’s more to self-publishing than throwing your book up on Amazon and calling it a day. 

To become a successful independent author, you must treat your writing as a business. Your books are your products, and to sell well, they must rival books produced by traditional publishers. To do this, you must give ample thought to every element of your books’ production, from editing and proofreading to cover design, back cover copy, formatting, and more.

Does that sound overwhelming? You’re not wrong. Indeed, there are a plethora of book production tools, services, and resources available to writers who choose to self-publish. But not all of these options are created equal. Some are more trustworthy than others, while some are simply better suited to certain books or writers.

How do you decide which options are best for you? Rather than fall victim to analysis-paralysis, let’s break down the most popular ways that self-published authors produce their books, beginning with five common interior formatting options…

One thing I love about being an online creator is connecting with fellow writers producing incredible work.

One such writer is Mandy Wallace, a blogger and writing mentor whose resources at Write or Die never fail to leave me feeling encouraged and inspired. Earlier this week, Mandy published Landing Your First Publication, a short story writing prompt and publication strategy guide for writers who refuse to rely on luck.

When Mandy offered to send me an advanced reader copy of the book to review, I jumped at the opportunity — and I’m so glad I did. Landing Your First Publication is a beautiful and insightful resource for any writer looking to stop wishing and start making their publication dreams come true.

Today, I’d love to share five key submission tips I gleaned from this incredible resource:

I’m an aspiring author. That means that every day I write, edit, query, and write some more. It means I attend conferences, network, and sit in crowded rooms “speed dating” with agents, hoping that one will choose to represent my work.

I’m also a Literary Agent Intern. That means that I watch as other people are chosen for representation while I keep querying each and every day. It means that I slog through hundreds of emails a month from the slush pile, hoping I can make another author’s dreams come true. It also means that I see the realities behind publication — that it takes work, grit, and a willingness to accept a few honest truths.

Here are some of the lessons I’ve learned while playing on both sides of the publishing fence:

Have you ever read a novel that was far too indulgent for its own good?

Perhaps the plot dragged on and on or the prose meandered or the author spent a highly unnecessary amount of time on world-building or the color of their characters' hair. Maybe you weren't exactly sure where the author went wrong, but you know the book could have been at least fifty pages shorter. 

A touch of fluff bears little consequence, of course, but too much filler can easily weigh a story down. Knowing how onerous such indulgent stories can be, it's time we took a look at our own manuscripts and the fluff that may be lurking within. How can you identify and cut your story's filler? Let's discuss today, writers!

When spending so much time working on our stories, it can be difficult to see the forest through the trees.

This is a phenomenon we discussed in our recent article on the importance of gaining objectivity as we edit. When we're in the thick of revising our stories, we may find ourselves so focused on all the little details that we want to improve that we fail to see some of our stories' biggest weaknesses. And the biggest of all, perhaps, are plot holes. 

What are plot holes exactly? And how can you find and fix them throughout your manuscript? Let's break down everything you need to know today, writer!

Struggling to feel confident in your self-editing skills? You're not alone, writer.

Both big picture revisions and tedious line-edits demand that writers consider countless facets of their work, from plot and character arcs to settings, themes, character development, and world-building, then on to dialogue, diction, sentence structure, tone, voice, atmosphere, and beyond. It's no wonder so many writers approach self-editing with extreme trepidation.

And while there are many techniques that can help writers approach revisions and line-edits with confidence, there is one especially powerful trick that I want to break down with you today: maintaining an objective eye. What is objectivity exactly, and how can it help improve your self-editing skills? Let's dive in! 

As with much of anything, there are both advantages and disadvantages to self-publishing your fiction.

A few weeks back, we covered the pros and cons of pursuing a traditional book deal as a means of publishing your fiction and building a career in writing. Today, we’re flipping the tables and discussing the very same for self-publishing!

Do you think self-publishing might be the right choice for your fiction?

If you haven’t already, I recommend first checking out the other self-publishing articles in our publishing series before getting started with today's breakdown. You can find these articles here and here.

All caught up? Fantastic. Let’s jump straight into the pros & cons of self-publishing today!

There are many ways to self-publish a book.

If you're simply looking to make your book available online for whomever would like to read it, it's entirely possible to self-publish without spending a dime. 

If, however, you're interested in self-publishing a book that can rival the quality of those produced by traditional publishing houses, a few expenses will indeed come into play.

Throughout our publishing series, we've taken a look at both traditional and self-publishing options as a means of launching our writing careers. With that in mind, let's break down the costs of self-publishing a professional quality novel today.

Both traditional and self-publishing routes give authors the opportunity to share their stories with the world while building their writing careers. But which publishing path you pursue shouldn’t be decided on a whim.

There are disadvantages to working within the publishing industry just as there are for indie authors publishing online. Knowing the pros and cons of both publishing routes is the key to making the best choice for your writing career. 

Last week, in the second installment of our publishing series, we broke down the path debut authors are likely to experience should they choose to pursue traditional publishing.

If you’re brand new to publishing and are unsure of how traditional book deals work, I encourage you to check out that article first. Then, come back to today's post for an in-depth look at the pros and cons of working within the traditional publishing industry.

Sound good? Let's dive in!

If you’re gearing up to publish your first book, then you might be wondering what the traditional publishing process looks like. What’s involved in finding and signing with a literary agent? How exactly do you land a book deal? And what happens after you ink your name on the dotted line? In today's article, Kristen breaks down an overview of the process that most debut authors follow as they build careers within the traditional publishing industry.