Sunday, October 27, 2019

5 Helpful Tools from a Newbie Self-Publisher

5 Helpful Tools Discovered by a Newbie Self-Publisher

In the past two weeks, I've talked about lessons learned as a newbie self-publisher. My first attempt was an eBook and the second a Paperback. Like I said in those articles, I'm not a guru! I'm learning the ropes and sharing the climb.

Was it easy, no way! I can honestly say I'm lacking sleep, and this so-called brain of mine has been reduced to mush. But I love the feeling: You know when you've overcome something and earned a sense of moving forward.

In this article, I'd like to share some of the convenient tools I've found online to help you with your own self-publishing journey. I spent a lot of time researching various aspects of the writing and publishing process and have saved my favorite tips and tools for future projects.

Here are five handy tools/tips I discovered along the way:

1. Choosing a Title for Your Books

I'll start by saying that my titles aren't genius. Lol, but as most of you know, a title is vital. My second book is all about fun, it's a party riddle gamebook. Yah, I know, who writes riddles, right? It's a crazy freaking knack that I have, go figure?

I wanted to create interest with my title and have the title say precisely what the book was about, and what the book could be used for.

I researched some of the most potent action words for marketing and tripped on several helpful articles. The article I ended up saving for future reference was "277 Action Words to Supercharge Your Writing."

2. Kindleprenuer - Be Sure to Check it Out

Kindleprenuer is filled with handy writing tidbits. It's written in a straightforward format, and the tips are easy to implement. They also suggest useful tools to help you along your learning process.

Don't miss their article on 'How to Title a Book,' it's worth your time!

3. Title Generators - These are Handy

A title generator auto-generates suggested title ideas based on your entry. I'll admit, the title for my latest book didn't come from a title generator; however, the title generator did inspire my final decision for the title.

This title generator is a ton of fun and a little addictive! Go ahead and put in the details and see the choices it spits out. It's also a recommended tool by Kindleprenuer.

Here's another helpful title generator. As I mentioned above, it did inspire the title creation process.

4. Setting Up Your Amazon Author Central Page

Since I only have two books published, I haven't set my page up yet. However, you guessed it, I've researched the topic already.

When you're ready, check out this article on how to set your Author Page up, it's helpful.

5. Choosing Your Subtitles - Bold, Clear, and Specific

No, I didn't come up with that criteria. It's part of the excellent advice you'll get from Kindleprenuer. I mentioned them above. They also offer a helpful article on 'how to select a subtitle that sells'.

______________________

Here were my challenges:
  •  It's a riddle book
  •  The book is designed and suggested as a fun game for parties
  •  The riddles are geared towards teens and adults (all clean of course)
  •  I needed a branded name to use on future riddle books
As I researched naming my book, I had quite the challenge trying to get these points established on the cover: A party game book, a riddle book, for teens and adults as well as finding space for an action word.

Here's what I decided:
  •  "A Party Game" stated at the top since that's the point of the book
  •  #Stumped is my branded name that will be on future riddle books
  •  'Instant Party Riddles for Teens and Adults" is the sub-title
  •  The word "Instant" is my action word
  •  The back of the book features an actual riddle 
I'm not saying my choices are the right ones, or that they can't be improved. In fact, I may change the cover down the road. What I learned is that the process for choosing a title, sub-title, and design is time-consuming and crucial to the overall final product.

That's enough for today on my journey into self-publishing, here's my second book. There's an eBook version as well, but it's in the approval stage. It should be showing in a day or so. 

Oh, and yes, I've started the third book: It's not poetry, it's not a riddle book, it's not a novel, oh what could it be?

Here's book number two. Available on Amazon.
Note: I'm an Amazon Associate, but the above link
does not have my Associate ID in it.




Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”


11 comments:

  1. Barbara, great tools. I can't thank-you, enough for sharing all that you are going through with your self-publishing. I am a few steps behind you and these articles have been a blessing to me.

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    Replies
    1. Brenda, I hope when you tackle your book it's a bit easier than when I first started. I knew absolutely zero about it. Now that I have a few under my belt, I'm becoming a bit more comfortable with it. Slow but sure. Good luck with your book too.

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  2. Sharing these tips and tools with my son who is working on his 2nd self-publishing book. I'm sure he will find it very helpful. Congratulations and well done with your new book.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Pat, your son is on a roll too. It's pretty addicting once you start doing this.

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  3. I have no doubt these sites and tips would be very helpful to self-publishers! I would imagine selecting a catchy and easily searchable book title would be very challenging. Congratulations on your second book! And, thank you for sharing your awesome tips and website links. They would be extremely helpful!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Cynthia, choosing the title and configuring the cover (until I hire someone to do that part) is the most time consuming. Once you understand how to lay a book out (the order of things), and of course the writing is the part we all do, you're halfway through. It's the cover design, that's the work. But wowza it's also the fun part.

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  4. Barbara, I am so impressed with your self-publishing efforts! Publishing two books in just a couple of weeks is a tribute to your determination - and savvy. Thanks so much for sharing your helpful tips for other newbie self-publishers!

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    Replies
    1. Margaret, thank you! I do love working on my sites, but I have to say that writing (really it's more like creating) books is another level of joy I never expected.

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  5. Definitely not easy! The technicalities do become life encompassing trying to work them out - congrats, what a fun idea for a book!

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    Replies
    1. omg, you nailed it, "life encompassing!" absolutely!

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  6. Wow Barbara, you are like a train in fast forward mode. I admire your progress and relish in the fact that I now have two authors in my list of friends. Congratulations doesn't begin to tell you how much I admire what you have done. May you stay focused and continue to reap the rewards of your hard work. Thank you also for sharing some of the places that helped you the most.

    ReplyDelete

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