Sunday, February 8, 2015

Sunday's Links to Writing & Marketing Blog Posts

WHAT IS IMPORTANT FOR INDIE AUTHORS IN 2015

By: Gary McLaren

It’s that season when people love to post resolutions and predictions for the year ahead. Along with others in the publishing industry I have been reviewing “where we’re at” and “where we’re heading” as an industry in 2015.

When considering where we’re at it’s helpful to remember just how far self-publishing has come in the past decade. It’s just over 7 years since Amazon launched the first Kindle eReader (in November 2007). It’s also more than 11 years since I launched my web site, Publish Your Own Ebooks.  What a journey it’s been and what amazing changes we’ve witnessed and been part of!

Self-publishing has experienced a metamorphosis, transforming from an ugly caterpillar that people shy away from, into a beautiful creature that really flies!

Over the past few weeks I’ve read many blog posts from experts summarizing their own thoughts on the state of our industry. A couple of good posts are ‘12 Publishing And Marketing Predictions‘ from Penny Sansevieri at The Future of Ink and Bob Mayer’s ‘16 Thoughts for Authors/Publishing for 2015‘. One of my favorite posts is Joanna Penn’s ‘Back to Basics‘, a post which is closely aligned with my own thinking.

During the years 2010 to 2013, as more people migrated to digital books, we saw very strong growth in digital publishing. With that growth came tremendous opportunities for indie authors, particularly through Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) but also through Barnes & Noble, Smashwords and Kobo Writing Life. It was a boom time. Some have referred to it as a gold rush.

This strong growth could not continue forever though and 2014 was a very different a year. Many indie authors discovered that they were hitting a wall. High ranks became harder to achieve. Book giveaways no longer yielded results like they had before. Many authors reported their incomes were falling instead of rising. Some indie authors turned their backs on their new writing careers and walked off in dismay.

I think you can safely say that in 2014, for some people, indie publishing ‘lost its mojo’. The magic is gone. The gold rush is now over.

Where do we go from here?

. . .

Read the full article HERE!  
~*~

If you missed my writing & marketing tweets and retweets yesterday, here they are again:

Writing & Marketing
  1. Have You Added a Call to Action to Your Facebook Author Page? - Where Writers Win http://ow.ly/IFssT
  2. Writability: Confessions of a Binge Writer http://ow.ly/IFvaU
  3. Building A Book Review Blog - How To Get Started http://ow.ly/IFveE
  4. What is Important for Indie Authors in 2015? http://ow.ly/IFvth
  5. 3 Reasons to Bundle the Early Books in Your Series | Lindsay Buroker http://ow.ly/IFvWt
  6. Readers Do Not Owe Writers Anything | LitReactor http://ow.ly/IFwyo
  7. How your book metadata is like selling houses with a rollercoaster http://ow.ly/IFytV
  8. 21 Proofreading and Editing Tips for Writers | Writing Forward http://ow.ly/IFS9M
  9. Is there an ideal age to write a masterpiece? - infographic | Books | The Guardian http://ow.ly/IFSdm
  10. 11 Tips for Writing an Effective Email Newsletter http://ow.ly/IFSfY
  11. David B. Coe: Characters and Character Relationships http://ow.ly/IFSlJ
  12. Yanking Readers Out of a Story - Elizabeth Spann Craig http://ow.ly/IFSrr
  13. Fiction University: Finding the Right Critique Partners http://ow.ly/IFSwl
  14. The 5 Key Pillars You Need for Epic Content Marketing Success http://ow.ly/IFSzv
  15. The 6 Worst Things To Say To Your Literary Agent - Writer's Relief, Inc. http://ow.ly/IFSCp
  16. 4 Steps to Successful Product Creation Every Blogger Should Know (But Most Don’t!) : @ProBlogger http://ow.ly/IFSF9
  17. Is it Time to Quit Your Day Job? - Books & Such Literary Management : Books & Such Literary Management http://ow.ly/IFSHI

Today I'm adding a few book Tweets
  1. "Action-packed #western & a poignant #romantic tale." PRODIGAL GUN: http://t.co/gEG11Eny2q #mgfpf @DisorderlyWords http://t.co/dbf4a1r0Im
  2. RT @m16agenda "Unfailing #love makes Miracle Child one of my top 5 #inspirational reads." 4.8 Stars http://t.co/woCTL3douC #kindleunlimited
  3. Looking for new authors? Check out the Independent Author Network @WilliamPotter68 #IAN1 http://t.co/9fS8IVYZYA #amreading @AuthorNetwork
  4. THE VIGILANTE SERIES by @ceebee308 ~ When the justice system doesn't cut it ~ US http://t.co/oaMdBcaNjt UK http://t.co/x9QHRgnutV
  5. RT @BalletMuzik: ♪ღ♪ Beautiful #gift for #ValentinesDay ♪ღ♪ ♥ "Love's Reflections" ♥ http://t.co/ip1kp9WtPn ♪ღ♪ http://t.co/9PUhCtpegF
  6. Snowed in with a pair of strays. A boy & his dog bring hope. CHRISTMAS STRAY http://t.co/uo7SV9FG1Q #kindleunlimited @AyalaRachelle
  7. RT @TheresaSnyder19: You've been waiting! The Farloft Chronicles Vol. 5 THREE & A HALF DRAGONS Now on Kindle http://t.co/1RKH0ydgod #IARTG
  8. Heartfelt, poignant #timetravel #romance two-book set: MacKlenna Family Legacy #IAN1 #Mustread http://ow.ly/ICmmb
  9. More excitement than a Bruce Willis movie! 5* #REVIEW 'The Pyramid Legacy' http://t.co/8KGypecuri #ArtKNB @CliveEaton #ASMSG
  10. RT @JennyBurnley1: Dare to be different, read ZENZORIS RETURNS http://t.co/QviuT8VIed  UK http://t.co/XzpbPRbfuN US #BookBoost #bookplugs
  11. Man’s greatest fantasy or worst nightmare? AMERICAN GODDESSES by Gary Henry @LiteraryGary http://t.co/Nt1YSwZnDY #IndieBooksBeSeen #IARTG
  12. Honor, family & love in a time of war! Time Travel #Romance THE SAPPHIRE BROOCH http://ow.ly/IFwv3 http://ow.ly/i/8yxZ2 
Happy writing and running, Kathy 
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