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Roundup of Writing and Publishing Resources

Posted in: Book Design, Book Marketing, Perfecting your Craft, Understanding Publishing on August 16, 2019 3 Comments 💬

reedsy writing and publishing resources image

Here at Reedsy, we’re fortunate that we get to work with some of the finest talent in the publishing industry — and these experts have shared their experiences and knowledge with us in the form of interviews and how-to guides. In fact, we’ve published articles on so many topics that it’s hard to keep track of them all.

In this post, we want to share some of the best Reedsy articles so far, sorted in a way that mirrors the publishing journey taken by most authors.

To make this information even easier to digest, we've compiled it into our beautiful Book Launch Checklist! You can simply download it for free below, then follow the steps to publication!

Sign up to download our Book Launch Checklist!

You'll get it in your email inbox right after you sign up

How Do You Write Your Book?

Writing your book

Everything starts with a fantastic idea. Without that first piece of inspiration, how can you be expected to write that game-changing novel or non-fiction masterpiece? But once you have that idea, there’s a lot you can do to shape it into a great first draft, and from your first draft to a polished book. We’ve got great stuff on the blog which will help you work on your craft.

Writing genre fiction

Writing comic books and graphic novels

Comic books and graphic novels almost exist in a world separate from novels and non-fiction but many of the principles remain the same.

Writing your first draft

The last link on this list is super-relevant for non-fiction authors, for whom it’s pretty common to work with collaborators at an early stage.

Developing writing craft

Revising and rewriting


Designing Your Book

designing your book image

If there’s one thing we know to be true, it’s this: everybody judges a book by its cover. A quick browse through the Kindle Store will reveal some truly terrible book covers created by self-publishing authors. With the rise of ebooks in recent years, authors’ covers have become their #1 sales tool.

Cover design

Interior design

The inside of your book should also look good, right?

Formatting your book

If you’re interested in learning more about the nitty-gritty of formatting, we have some articles you’ll find interesting.

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You'll get it in your email inbox right after you sign up

Traditional or Self-Publishing?

Self-Publishing vs Traditional Publishing

Once you’ve got a polished manuscript in your hands, it’s time to assess your publishing options. Without complicating matters, you will have two options: you can look for a publishing deal, or you can self-publish.

Traditional publishing

If you’re serious about going down the traditional publishing route, you will need to think about submitting a query to a literary agent — or perhaps directly to publishers. But as we’ve discovered through our experts, there are now many roads that will lead you to a book deal.

Self-publishing

If you choose to take charge and self-publish a book, you’ll soon face a lot of questions. After all, you’re basically going to do the work of the publisher by yourself. But that doesn’t mean you have to go it alone — with Reedsy, you can now work with the best editors, designers, and marketers in the publishing business.

We have some great posts from successful independent authors — some who have since signed deals with big publishers, and some who have turned their back on book deals.

We’ve also spoken to literary agents about where self-publishing fits into their business.

Protecting your work

Whether you decide to self-publish or publish traditionally, you'll need to think at some point about protecting your book as intellectual property. Luckily, copyright doesn't need to be complicated! We've got the resource you need to understand copyright below.

  • How to Create a Copyright Page in 5 Minutes: Download a free copyright page template for your professional use.
  • How To Copyright A Book: A Comprehensive Guide: This useful guide covers everything that an author might want to know about the copyright registration process and the copyright for their own book. Questions that the guide answers: How do you copyright a book? What exactly does copyright protect? What's the difference between copyright in the U.S. and the rest of the world? Do you need to copyright a book cover?

Distributing your ebook

Once your book is all polished and has an eye-catching cover, it's time to get it up on all the major ebook stores! But first, you'll need to produce the right ebook formats.

In addition, we also have a set of posts that dive into the world's #1 bookstore.

Sign up to download our Book Launch Checklist!

You'll get it in your email inbox right after you sign up

Marketing Your Book

book marketing 101

While there are plenty of rewards to self-publishing, it will also require you to wear multiple hats — including that of a marketer. It’s not easy work, but many successful independent authors have demonstrated how it's possible to reach an audience without help from HarperCollins’s army of marketers. Here are a few of their techniques, as explained by Reedsy’s professionals.

Creating a website and building your mailing list

As our entire community will tell you, every author should have a mailing list — a database of engaged fans and potential readers.

Once you’ve setup your website, you now have a way to start collecting valuable email addresses from your prospective readers.

Preparing your book for launch day

Once you have your mailing list in place, it’s time to formulate a plan for your book launch.

Social media for authors

You don’t have to be Stephen King or J.K. Rowling to be able to engage with fans on social media. Our marketing experts can give you a quick glimpse into this largely-untapped resource.

Facebook advertising

By and large, we’ve discovered that advertising can be an expensive and ineffective way to market your book. There is one exception to this rule, however: an ad platform which will let you target very specific segments based on things like location, gender, age, and interests.

To see all of these aspects working together, check out our post of 50 Book Marketing Ideas That Every Author Needs to Know.

BookBub Advertising

Did we say there was only one exception to the "no advertising rule"? Well, okay, there might be a few more — including BookBub. In particular, we're talking about their daily Featured Deals and self-serve ads.

New articles and guides are being published on the blog every week — not to mention our ongoing ReedsyLive talks and Reedsy Learning courses. Make sure you sign up to our newsletter to receive all the latest tips and guides from the world of publishing.

Sign up to download our Book Launch Checklist!

You'll get it in your email inbox right after you sign up


If you have any questions or topics you’d like to see covered on the Reedsy Blog, post them in the comments below.

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Angela Ackerman

Good to see this all put together--I get a lot of very broad publishing questions that can't be answered simply in an email or DM, so this article is a good go-to for me to pass on. 😉

Angela

Natasha

Thank you for sharing!

Continue reading

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