• It’s convenient. You can work in your living room, at your local coffee shop or while you travel.
• It offers priceless advice. Professionals and peers alike can help you fine tune your writing. Sure, you can ask your mom for her suggestions, too, but your peers (who most likely have more experience within the industry) will do you a favor by offering constructive criticism.
• It’s (usually) free – Many online communities are free! So, there’s really no reason for you not to join, right?
• It’s rewarding. Many of us sit in seclusion and type away without asking for much feedback as we create our new masterpiece. But, when you have interacted with the people on your selected community, it can become a very rewarding experience. You don’t have to wait until you’re finished with a piece in order to reap the rewards of your blood, sweat and tears! Plus, we all need a little motivation during those pesky writer’s block episodes.

Here are some great online communities we suggest you check out:

• Author Learning Center – Author circles allow you to interact with peers, plus you gain access to a plethora of educational and informative webinars and tools.
• Figment or Wattpad – Ideal for young writers or those writing for young readers.
• Book Country – Perfect for genre fiction writers who are looking to gain some feedback about their work, plus you can easily move it from review to publication.
• Absolute Write – Allows you to have conversations about your book if you don’t like the idea of posting your book for review.

We’re curious: What is your favorite writing community and why?

Rusty Shelton, who began his career in traditional publishing and is now the president and CEO of an author publicity firm called Shelton Interactive, discusses discoverability in terms of publicity. How do you connect with the right people in order to get PR?

The way that journalists and media in general interact with authors is very different than it was years ago. Writers are now tasked with getting above the noise of other writers. Journalists are now looking for books online instead of listening to direct pitches. They simply don’t have the time or the resources to review every single press release or phone message. So, think: What are the major stories that people are talking about right now and how does your book relate? Post a blog about it or snag an interview with an influential blogger.

Shelton goes into more details in this video courtesy of Author Learning Center.  Plus, watch some more videos about online marketing.

How do you encourage the media to cover your book?

Sure, it can be scary to put your work in front of your peers, but the benefits far outweigh any hesitations you may have:

• Casts fresh eyes on your work.
• You can always take or leave any suggestions – that’s the beauty of self-publishing; you make all of the final decisions regarding your manuscript.
• Your peers understand the genres, are knowledgeable about the publishing industry and (hopefully) have a better grasp on grammar than a non-writer friend.

So, now that you know why you should ask your peers to review your book, how do you go about getting fellow authors to review it? Approach a peer in your writing community – whether it’s through an online group or in person – and simply ask. Offer to review a chapter of their book first, and ask if they’ll return the favor. Who wouldn’t agree to that? It’s a free review, and it probably compliments that writer’s ego we mentioned above. You’re coming to them for help and returning the favor – it’s a win/win situation!

Some more food for thought if you’re still not convinced peer reviews are valuable: Can you imagine Jaws as a comedy? Yikes. Believe it or not it could have ended up that way had an editor or peer not intervened. Here are a few more famous titles that could have turned out drastically different if the author never consulted anyone outside of his or her own thoughts.

You’re not in this alone; it’s all about teamwork!

Did you ask a peer to review your work before you published your book?

Video courtesy of the Author Learning Center

His technique is the reverse of what most authors would do, but it shows us that there is more than one way to create new stories. It is also a great example of how to play on our strengths. He proves that you should do what works for you and you just might find success. So, try different techniques with your own story development and keep tweaking it until you find something that fits your style.

Watch some more videos with writing advice from R.L. Stine >>

What are some of your writing habits that defy what’s considered the norm in the writing world?

You worked hard to write a book, and now you’re ready to publish. Woo hoo! But, wait. Have you thought about your e-book cover yet? As an e-book author, you face unique challenges when it comes to designing that perfect cover since it will only be seen online. 

E-book design is way more important than most authors realize. If your e-book cover doesn’t grab a reader’s attention, you could potentially lose a sale or even several thousand. Your design must represent the book you’ve created, draw in readers and make your title stand out from the competition.

That might sound overwhelming, so here are a few do’s and don’ts to consider as you create (or hire a pro to create for you) your e-book cover:

• Do consider what your cover will look like as a thumbnail. Click to tweet >>
  The images used to represent your book in online bookstores are rather small thumbnails. Bold typographic design with a simple – yet powerful – image is typically successful because it is easier to view at a smaller size.
• Don’t think it’s all about you. Click to tweet >>
  Think about your audience, not just about what you like. Booktango makes it easy for you to get some feedback from friends and family before you publish your book by allowing you to post different versions of your book cover on social media. Clearly everyone has different opinions, but you might be surprised on some of the feedback you receive on a cover you thought was perfect.  Having other people contribute their opinions can help you gain some perspective.
• Do look at other covers from your genre. Click to tweet >>
  Make sure you research the trends in the publishing industry. You need to look at other successful books to see what visual standards have evolved to help identify specific genres to readers. Plus, it is important for book covers to be current. Just by walking through a bookstore or browsing an online bookstore trends will become apparent.
• Don’t add too much text. Click to tweet >>
  All text on the cover should be kept short and to the point. The front cover should only have a title, short subtitle (giving a little more detail to the book’s topic) and author/ pen name. A brief endorsement is also a possibility. A book cover serves as much as an ad for the book as it does as a cover, especially when it comes to e-books. Your title is a headline – not a full-blown sentence – on a billboard.
• Don’t over design. Click to tweet >>
  Authors tend to get stuck on an idea even though it is not the best way to market their book to a targeted audience. Typically, the author wants to depict a scene from the book or have their main character on the cover. Avoid using this much detail because the cover should draw a reader in without telling them too much. Reading is such a personal exercise, so authors should let the reader imagine the characters in scenery in their own minds as they read your words.

And, hey, we aren’t all cover designers, so Booktango has book cover services where you can get a professionally created cover that fits your book.

How did you decide on your book cover design?

It’s the perfect time of year to bust out the cleaning supplies and tackle some serious spring cleaning. What? You’re not excited? You should be! This is a great opportunity to boost your creative flow and write that book you’ve let sit all winter. Hey, I’m not a DIY Martha Stewart type of person either, but these goals are attainable.

You might be surprised how a little organizing can enhance your work ethic and lead to a clear head with new writing ideas. It may seem like an overwhelming task, but just set aside a weekend afternoon to spruce up your writing desk. You’ll see a clean desk in no time.

1.) Clear off everything. That’s right, you heard me – everything. Make sure you have labeled baskets set aside to separate all of your knickknacks, utensils, trash, etc., as each item is pulled off. Once you sort through the items, the hard part is done.
Now place those clearly marked containers back on your desk. This will help you keep the clutter at bay with materials close by so you’re not wasting time searching for an item. And, make sure you have a file cabinet nearby with clearly marked folders to easily organize miscellaneous papers. If storage is an issue preventing you from staying organized, think vertical! Hang shelves; tack containers to your wall for your utensils. Get creative and figure out what works for your space. I’ve seen writers turn closets into workspaces – it is possible to stay organized even in a tiny space.

Photo from Pink Eggshell blog.

2.) Add inspiration. Whether it’s some flowers or a picture of your kids, make sure what’s near and dear to your heart is clearly on display. Some of us work well facing a window with natural daylight streaming inside. Or, you might be like me and find yourself daydreaming while looking out, so I’m forced to turn my back on the beautiful outdoors if I want to get anything done. I love the idea of having a corkboard covered in an eye-catching fabric so I’m not just staring at a bland wall – it can double as a space to post inspirational quotes/pictures and a space to pin notes in an easy-to see area.

Photo from Pinterest.

3.) Indulge in comfort. Invest in a nice computer chair. Your behind should be occupying that chair several days a week as you work on your manuscript, so make sure you curb discomfort with a nicely padded chair. And, make sure your room is set at a comfortable temperature – not too hot where you’re falling asleep and not too cold where your chattering teeth prevent you from focusing. Space heaters and fans are a writer’s best friend especially if your work area is in the basement or attic.

Bonus tips: Keep disinfectant wipes close by to clean up any coffee spills or dust. Create a shopping list on your phone in case you run out of staplers, working pens, etc.  That’s an easy system to help you remember which supplies you need to purchase the next time you’re at the store.

Share some cleaning tips with your fellow authors in the comments below.

One of the most frequently asked questions we get from authors is “how can I effectively market my e-book?” There is no million dollar answer that works for every single author. It’s kind of like weight loss – don’t fall for quick-fix gimmicks, and if you put in a committed effort into working toward your goal, you’ll eventually see some results.

You already know that Booktango is unique for offering free e-book publishing. We also offer some marketing services and opportunities specifically catered toward our digital-only authors. Let’s look at a few and see why each one might work for your marketing strategy.

1.) Check out BookStubs – one our snazziest and most affordable marketing tools. It’s like a business card for your book that you can easily distribute at author events. Watch this one minute video to get a better idea of how BookStubs could be right for your marketing goals.

2.) Get your book featured in the Booktango bookstore. This increases your book’s visibility and it’s FREE publicity. We even offer a few tips on how to increase your chance of being selected.

3.) Interact with us on social media. We’re not trying to brag (okay, maybe we are just a bit), but we have close to 10,000 followers on Twitter and more than 1,000 Facebook fans. Mention us in a tweet (please don’t spam us!) or post a comment on Facebook. We love connecting with our authors online, and it’s an easy way to get a re-tweet or a Facebook like. Plus, it’s also a great way to network with fellow authors.

4.) Be the star of your very own digital book signing. You might think you can’t have a book signing with your e-book. Wrong! The Book Signing with Author Chat marketing service allows you to interact with readers through an hour-long digital event. It really is a neat opportunity exclusive to e-book authors.

5.) Get featured in a Booktango blog post. One of our most popular blog posts was from Booktango author William L. Weaver. Tweet or share on Facebook links to your blog posts that are relevant to our blog topics – e-book publishing, marketing and writing – and we just might feature the post.

6.) Rock out during your blog tour. What the heck is a blog tour? It’s a book tour with a modern twist – a way to connect with readers in the digital age by being featured on the blogs they’re already reading. We’ll set up four interviews with influential bloggers – we’re talking blogs frequented by more than 100,000 combined readers each month – and you’ll be featured on their blogs.

7.) Encourage your readers to leave reviews. Not many authors take advantage of this feature, but they should! You have a Customer Review section on your book’s detail page. Remind your readers to take a few minutes to leave an honest opinion about your book. It will most likely encourage future readers to check out your book if you have several four or five star reviews. How many times have you checked out reviews from customers who have already purchased a product? Plus, we review and approve every single comment, so it might peak our interest if we see a book getting favorable reviews. Please note: You will be penalized if you try to spam your review section with fake comments.

How have you effectively promoted your book through Booktango?

There are so many writing conferences, yet so little time. How can you ensure your experience at each conference is a success? Don’t worry. Here are four tips on how to get the most out of attending these kinds of events.

1.)  Set goals. Before deciding which events to attend, you need to create a list of goals you have for a writing conference. This can be as simple as listing out items like “have fun” and “learn more about mystery writing.” With so many activities going on at conferences, it’s easy to get wrapped up in the excitement and forget your purpose. A list of your goals will help you stay on track.

2.) Make connections before the event. Use social networks to connect with other conference-goers ahead of the event. Ask questions like “what are you bringing to the conference” or “are you scheduling any appointments?” This could lead to a quick face-to-face meeting for a cup of coffee at the event, which is an excellent way to exchange ideas with a fellow writer and build your network.

3.) Bring items to pass out for free. You’re missing out on potential readers if you don’t bring something for attendees to take home with them. And, yes, it should be free. Print out bookmarks, business cards, fliers or some nifty BookStubs. Just please don’t crowd around booths or try and take over another author’s book signing.

4.) Attend book signings. People love to talk about themselves. Make sure to attend as many book signings as you can. Ask the author what kind of book marketing worked for them, what didn’t work. But, don’t pitch your book to the author; it’s not professional nor is it the right place or time. This is an opportunity to learn from the success and failures of other authors.

Share your own tips in the comments below on how to maximize your time at writing conferences.

I just provided our content team with a list of the April updates for the Booktango bookstore homepage.  Believe it or not, there is not a systematic program that runs to feed this page. Each month I sit down and carefully review our titles to decide which books to feature.

The bookstore has several carousels of books on the homepage including the top ‘featured’ carousel, Books We Love, Noteworthy Titles and the coveted Booktango Feature Title. I thought I’d share a little bit about my process of choosing which books to feature, and give you five tips to help your book get picked in upcoming months!

1.) Make sure your keywords are updated.  The very first step in my process is to look for books that are relevant to events of the month or related to the season. For the April featured books I searched for the following keywords: April, Spring, Flower, Gardening, Vacation, Bloom, Autism, Earth, Health, Poetry, Baseball, and Mathematics (and a few more).  All of those words have some relevance to April or events going on around this time making them relevant books to feature for the month.

2.) Take the time to write a strong book description. One of the downsides of my job is there is no  possible way I can read every book that Booktango publishes; however, I do find the best books by reading the book description provided. Make sure to take the time to write a strong “About the Book” blurb before submission. Read and re-read it to make sure it gives a potential book buyer a good description and ‘hook’ into your book. When I find well-written, intriguing and descriptive marketing text, it hits my list for featured books. You can get more tips on writing a good marketing description here for free.

3.)  Make sure your cover is eye catching and relevant. It’s true what they say about book covers, so never rush through this step. The easiest way for me to select books for the featured carousels is to scan for relevant and beautiful covers. While a cover that is full of colors and very appeasing to the eye is nice, if it isn’t relevant to the content of the book itself, I will likely skip over it. Looking through the covers our authors have submitted, it’s clear we have some extremely creative people! I love to reward your investment or hard work in designing your cover, whether on your own or through our custom cover service, by featuring it.

4.) Strong sales. Now this one may surprise some of you. You may think the homepage of the bookstore should be for those books which need help making more sales. In some instances it is (I’ll get there in a moment). This isn’t my first factor in selecting books, but it is one I hit from time to time. If a book is doing well in sales with the online retailers, I’d love to give it a boost on Booktango, too, and make sure the author earns their full 100% royalties without any retailer cut.

5.) Promote your book. This is by far the one I use most often. I check the Booktango Twitter feed and Facebook page daily. If you are doing all you can to promote your book and get it out there, then I want to help you out. If you use Twitter, be sure to tag @Booktango or enter your full bookstore link in your tweet, and I am sure to see it. I am particularly interested in those authors who do a variety of tweets or ‘tease’ their book to hook readers in.

Unfortunately, even with all of the above it is impossible to feature every book we publish, but I try to make sure everyone who does the above well get their turn.  Think I missed something in my considerations? Comment below and maybe I’ll pick up your thought process for future months!

These are legitimate questions from a consumer who is shopping around for a DIY publishing platform. But, there is no catch! Booktango was created from a group of forward thinkers who wanted to provide tools for any author to publish themselves. We wanted a platform that empowered authors to invest as much (or as little) into getting their book available on major online retailers.

I want to take a minute to debunk three of the most popular Booktango myths floating the interwebs and give you honest and direct answers.

Myth #1: If I publish with Booktango, I have to give up the rights to my book. False! Our terms and conditions state we have non-exclusive rights to your book, which means you can publish with us and another publisher at the same time. You can also publish with us and have full rights to cancel your book and take it elsewhere if you receive a traditional publishing contract or other offers for rights to your book. In fact, we would be thrilled if one of our authors got their name and story out there and was subsequently picked up traditionally!

Our only caution is most retailers will not allow you to publish the same book through multiple publishers. For example, you can’t have Booktango list your book on Apple and also have Smashwords list your book on Apple.

Myth #2: Booktango has to make money somehow; I bet they are hiding book sales. False! Not only is this a horrible business practice, it is illegal! Every penny reported to us by the online retailers along with every penny you sell on the Booktango bookstore is passed on to you, the author.

Some online retailers, such as Scribd, have the ability to preview an eBook before you buy. The retailer decides how much of your book is available for preview. I recently saw a new release from Booktango that had about 75 views on Scribd almost immediately, but minimal actual sales. The reality is the preview of the book can help or hurt your book. The goal is that the preview is enough to “hook” the buyers, and they will purchase the full book. The flip side is they may read the preview and decide the book is not for them. A high number of views on a retailer doesn’t necessarily translate to high sales. I’m still a believer that the preview helps authors. You can use the views vs. sales to help you. With Booktango you can revise your book at any time. If you want to make the first chapter or introduction more suspenseful or attractive to those previewing it, you can start a resubmission. And, don’t forget to use your marketing text to hook the reader.

Myth #3: Booktango offers paid services too; if I publish with them they will pressure me to buy. False! This one is my favorite myths because it couldn’t be further from the truth. Does Booktango offer paid packages and services? Yes. Are you ever obligated or pressured to buy anything, No! In fact, Booktango doesn’t even have a sales team. Our customer service staff may suggest or make you aware of a service we offer, but their main goal is in their title: Customer Service. They are not commissioned and have no incentive to make sales.

Booktango does make money off our paid packages and services, but we also try to offer services that we feel truly give an author the power to make the choice. My boss uses the perfect analogy: You can mow your yard yourself or you can pay the neighbor kid to mow it for you, but in the end the choice is yours.

Have more myths or questions you’d like me to clear up? Post them in the comments below or message me on Twitter @Cruse_Tony and I would be happy to talk with you!