The Six Stages of Book Marketing

Most authors I talk to these days recognize that books don’t sell themselves, but many are still opposed to the idea of marketing. They live somewhere along a spectrum I call the Six Stages of Marketing: denial, disbelief, resentment, bargaining, depression, acceptance… Read more »

Five Myths About Self-Publishing We’d Like to Debunk

The world of publishing has changed dramatically in the last few decades. Print-on-demand printing and distribution, along with the proliferation of e-books, have allowed more authors than ever to make their writing widely available. The world of opportunities can lead to a world of mistakes … Read more »

Marketing Coaching with Sue Campbell

Happily Ever Author Club! Sue Campbell of Pages and Platforms, offers private and community coaching for authors who want to fire up their marketing. This is an extremely valuable opportunity that will allow you to focus your marketing efforts where they matter the most. The … Read more »

Keep Your Writing Projects Moving Forward

No matter what stage you are at in the writing projects, there are more resources online the ever. Conferences that formerly would have required travel and hotel expenses are now being staged virtually. Many organizations have put classes online, giving writers unprecedented access to top-notch … Read more »

How Do I Publish on Amazon?

I see or hear some version of this regularly. Authors call and specifically ask: How do I get published on Amazon? The answer is: You don’t. But the question (and the confusion around it) is understandable. In this article we’ll describe how Amazon’s publishing arm, … Read more »

Our response to Covid-19

To our community, First, thanks for your support during these difficult and rapidly changing times. We continue to design and publish books and have several new, exciting projects in the works. But sadly, we in the office won’t be working near each other on a … Read more »

Can a Self-Published Book Be Picked Up By a Publisher?

Maybe you’ve found some success with your self-published book and you’d like to find a literary agent to test the waters with a traditional publishing house. And why not? The sky’s the limit. It is possible to bring a self-published book into the traditional publishing … Read more »

How to Copyright a Book

Want to know a secret? Copyrighting your writing is really as easy as including a copyright page in your book. In other words, your book is copyrighted the minute you’ve put words on the page, and this alone protects your work in most circumstances. But … Read more »

Is Self-Publishing Right For You?

Are you having a difficult time deciding if self-publishing is right for you? At Luminare Press, we never discourage an author from trying to get a traditional publishing contract, but we know that these days such contracts are few and far between. So why not … Read more »

Metadata

What is Book Metadata?

Authors who’ve decided to self-publish inevitably encounter a request for “metadata” about their book. Don’t let this scare you. Book Metadata is simply information about your book. Examples of book metadata include title, subtitle, how you’d like your name to appear on the cover, and … Read more »

How to Price Your Book

One of the most important—and difficult—decisions you need to make as an indie author is how much to charge for your book. After all, how does one put a price tag on something toward which you’ve devoted so much time, energy, heart, and soul? None-the-less, … Read more »

finding invisible characters

Fixing Formatting, or What You Don’t See Will Hurt Your Book!

Before I was in the book publishing business, my mother, who was close to 90, decided to self-publish a novel. I’d read her manuscript several times over the years, offering plot and character feedback, but she hoped to find an agent, so I hadn’t really … Read more »

library shelves

Want to See Your Book on Library Shelves?

While libraries have expanded to become more than just a place to check out a book, they still spend north of a billion dollars every year on print material, according to recent statistics. This means getting a self-published book into a public library can be … Read more »

Book Cover Design: Readers WILL Judge

You’ve probably imagined your book cover for a long time. Once you decide to self-publish, you have to get down to the basics of book cover design. Paying attention to what will give your book a professional, appealing cover will keep it from having an … Read more »

Published? Time for a Party!

Your book is in your hands—congratulations! What’s next? Author readings, sometimes called publishing or book release parties, are a great way to spread the news about your book, while saying thank you to everyone who helped out along the way. A well-planned author party might … Read more »