The Indie Author Christmas List

The frenzy of gift buying has begun.  For those of us in the indie author scene, our hearts begin yearning for some things to make our lives as artists and marketers easier and more enjoyable.  So if you need a gift for an author friend, or if you are an author working on your wish list, here are some items and siubscription services that you might consider letting Santa know about this holiday season.

1) Yeti USB Microphone

Whether you are interested in doing online readings of your work, narrating trailers, or starting a podcast, this is a great multi-purpose microphone that is fairly reasaonably priced (around $125) and easy to use.  With video becoming more and more important in book marketing, being able to have decent audio is very helpful.  And it is a beautiful piece of equipment.

2) Canva for Work

Canva is a free online graphic design tool, but the paid version has a lot of bang for the buck.  It allows you to organize your files and brand kit, gives access to a large photo library, allows for instant resizing for different social media formats, allows you to create videos and gifs of your graphics. and will soon offer Twitter and Facebook post scheduling.  You can get an annual subscription for one person for $119.40, which works out to $9.95 per month.

3) Tailwind

If authors want to build a following on Pinterest and Instagram, this is the scheduling service for them.  At $9.99 per month if you pay annually, it allows you to create, schedule, and analyze the performace of pins with ease.  The Chrome plugin means that wherever you are online, scheduling a pin takes only a few clicks. You also have access to "tribes" of pinners in realted areas to help you network and boost each other's content.  You can also do bulk uploads of images for both Pinterest and Instagram, and the Instagram mode suggests the most effective hastags to use and shares your favorite hashtags to save you time.

4) KDP Rocket

KDP Rocket is essentially a research tool for Amazon keywords and categories.  One of the few tools that isn't a subscription service, it costs $97.  It is frequently updated and can be very helpful in seeing what people are actually searching for on Amazon.

5) The Complete Guide to Facebook Advertising by Brian Meert

Unfortunately, we indie authors spend a lot more time marketing than most of us would like.  This book ($19.99 on Kindle) is an extremely helpful overview of both the technical aspects of learning to use Facebook's advertising interface and the design and psychology of Facebook advertising.  It also includes information about using Instagram ads and links to additional content.

6) Vellum

The ultimate book creator's dream software, Vellum is pricy ($249.99 if you want to do both ebook and paperback layouts) and only works on Mac.  But if you have the cash to burn and really want to impress that author you love, getting them Vellum and a MacBook is the way to do it in style.


I am sure there are things writers covet that I am forgetting.  Authors, what is on your ultimate wish list?

RRBC Writers' Conference and Book Expo

The Rave Reviews Book Club is getting ready to host an online conference, December 1-3.  It's a chance to make connections with your fellow indie authors and service providers as well as to attend insightful educational programming.

I've helped create two of the educational sessionss: "Intro to Canva" and "Anatomy of a Book Cover."  For "Intro to Canva," I've created a video tutorial on using Canva to create social media graphics.  "Anatomy of a Book Cover" is a presentation I've been working with author/designer Jan Hawke.  They are both super informative, full of good advice and examples, and will get your creative juices flowing.
 
Other planned sessions include

• Building Your Author Platform
• Why Your Brand is Important and Why Protecting It Is Even More Important
• Why You Should Never Refuse LIVE Media Interviews
• Blogging for Success
• Literary Lingo 101
• Marketing 101
• Indie vs Traditional: Which One Wins?
• Social Media Dos & Don'ts
• Editors: Sniffing Out The Right One
• Formatting Made Easy
• Your Best Self Promotion Tool...
• Writing In The Senior Season
• Writing the Perfect Book Review
• Book Blurbs Do's & Don'ts

You will also find Author Booths and Vendor Booths.  You can discover great new books to read, and you can look for the publishing professionals you need to complete your current work in progress or to help you market your catalog of published work.

Even if you are not a member of Rave Reviews Book Club, this event is worth checking out.  You can register for sessions here.  If you want to have an author booth, you must first join the club here. The registration deadline for the conference is November 23, so don't dawdle.

Hope to see you at the RRBC Writers' Conference and Book Expo!

Everyday inspiration: the making of a cover

I want to tell you guys a little bit about how I created the cover for my upcoming release She Lights Up the Dark (November Snow Book 2).

I knew before I started designing that I wanted something involving a bright light in the sky.  I needed it to be reminiscent of the sun, but not close off the possibility of a different source for the light.  I started glancing through stock photos on Canva, my go-to for all design needs.  I just couldn't find the right picture.

Then, a minor miracle occurred.  I was biking with my son to school early one morning, and the sun was rising through the fog.  It was bright, but partially obscured.  I whipped out my phone and took this picture:

From that starting point, I began playing with filters, cropping, rotating, brightness, transparency, etc.  Eventually, I wound up with this:

But it wasn't quite right.  It needed something more.  It needed a November.  So I started going through all the Canva stock photos of woman's faces.  I probably tried a half-dozen and rejected them before I found the perfect one.  I tried a few different versions and tested them out on my friends.  This, to me, is a crucial step.  You don't necessarily have to take their advice if you have a strong feelings about an artistic decision, but you need another set of eyes to help you gauge a reader's reaction.  After much trial and error, this was the result:

I'm pretty pleased with it.  I hope you are, too.  It's amazing how randomly inspiration can strike.  One minute, you're taking your kid to school with no idea what to do for your next book cover.  The next, you're having a blast turning a hastily snapped phone photo into something special.  Keep your eyes open, everyone.  You never know when inspiration will strike.

Paperbacks tips for the indie author

I waited to do the paperback version of She Dies at the End until after I'd released the ebook on Kindle via Kindle Direct Publishing.  I wanted to gauge the level of interest before I put in the time.  I was surprised to find out that a lot of people, even young people, still prefer a physical copy and asked me when one might be available.  Having a two month gap also allowed me to correct some editing issues that came to light after I published the Kindle edition.

I used CreateSpace, an Amazon subsidiary, to create my paperback.  Here are just a few tips I figured out along the way.

When you upload your text, CreateSpace lets you know the dimensions your cover needs to be based on your pagecount and the size book you choose (6" by 9", for example).  The dimensions include the front and back covers, the spine, and a little extra for bleed.  You can then either use their cover creator or upload a pdf that matches the required dimensions.

I chose to use Canva to design my cover, since that's what I used to do the ebook and I wanted the two to match pretty closely.  Canva lets you do custom dimensions, and I had no problem creating my cover.  Do remember to leave room for the barcode on the back, and make sure the writing on the spine is centered and oriented properly.

I love Canva.  It is free if you use your own images, and the price for their images is quite reasonable.  It is quite versatile, and they have some lovely fonts.  You can hire a cover designer, of course, but if you have to or want to do it yourself, Canva.com is a good choice.

When you upload your book's docx file to Createspace, it converts your document to the new size and can generate a new docx file for you to download with the proper page dimensions and margins.  You then want to save that file so you can add page numbers, tweak spacing and font, etc.  Remember that you need to choose different odd and even pages under page numbers due to the way books are bound.  (You might need bottom right on odd pages and bottom left on even pages, for example.)  Once you have perfected your work, you upload the new file and submit your cover and interior files for approval.

Once your files are approved and you think the digital proof looks right, get a hard copy proof before you approve your files for publishing.  I cannot stress this enough.  It looks so much different in your hands than on the screen.

Good luck, and happy writing!