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Category Archives: Self-Publishing

Nonfiction Writing and the One-sided Sales Conversation

The World's Greatest Book Posted on October 27, 2016 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023

Business, technology, and how-to books can be viewed as one-sided sales conversations. Though the author may hope to sell products or services, what’s usually being sold directly to the reader is an idea—a strategy or philosophy that can be used … Continue reading →

Posted in Publishing, Self-Publishing, Writing

Want a Traditional Publishing Contract? Do Your Homework

The World's Greatest Book Posted on September 15, 2016 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023

This article discusses the pros and cons of traditional publishing. Abandon your biases, study the business of publishing, and choose the publishing method that best suits you and your book. Perhaps the biggest myth in publishing is that as a … Continue reading →

Posted in Publishing, Self-Publishing

Thoughts on 21st Century Literacy

The World's Greatest Book Posted on March 14, 2016 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023

21st Century Literacy: Introduction The traditional concept of literacy was built on the assumption that the written word was confined to the printed page, but this is no longer the case. Text is accompanied by images, video, interactivity, and technology. … Continue reading →

Posted in Publishing, Self-Publishing, Writing | Tagged Dave Bricker

Publishing Advice – Practices & Principles

The World's Greatest Book Posted on February 3, 2016 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023
publishing-advice

The following publishing advice is based on my own experiences and those of my clients. I hope you find it valuable and encouraging, even if it changes your expectations. I’ve written and published 12 books. I’ve guided many remarkable people … Continue reading →

Posted in Publishing, Self-Publishing | Tagged Dave Bricker

Rethinking Book Cover Design

The World's Greatest Book Posted on January 2, 2016 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023

Book cover design tells the story of the story. It must convey the spirit and intentions of the author authentically, and it also has a few practical chores to perform. If a book cover design is to accomplish these things … Continue reading →

Posted in book cover design, Book Design, Self-Publishing | Tagged Dave Bricker

Book Design Basics: Choosing a Book Font

The World's Greatest Book Posted on December 20, 2015 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023

Selecting a book font seems simple enough, but important subtleties and fine points of typography are not obvious to the average writer. This article offers insights into fonts suitable for book typography. Though it won’t turn the average author into … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Design, book typography, Self-Publishing | Tagged Dave Bricker

Book Design Basics: Quotation Marks and Primes

The World's Greatest Book Posted on October 25, 2015 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023

Writers often ask about the difference between “straight” or “dumb” quotation marks and traditional printers’ quotes, commonly referred to as “smart quotes” or “curly quotes.” Add in the need to distinguish between left single quotes and apostrophes, and the primes … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Design, book typography, Self-Publishing, Writing | Tagged Dave Bricker

Bad Kerning Awards: Typography and Your Brand

The World's Greatest Book Posted on October 9, 2015 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023

After a redesign, the folks at Final Touch should have found a solution. How much money do you think gets invested in branding a product like this? A snappy name might sound good, but type matters. Sometimes the visual message … Continue reading →

Posted in Self-Publishing | Tagged branding, kerning, typography

The Perfect Book Sales Page

The World's Greatest Book Posted on September 13, 2015 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023

Tom Morkes recently published The Perfect Book sales Page on his blog. I’m usually the first person to reject formulaic approaches to book marketing. Many well-written books are horrible products. But what I like about Tom’s template is that it … Continue reading →

Posted in Publishing, Self-Publishing

Self-Publishing Scams: Keep the “Self” in Self-Publishing

The World's Greatest Book Posted on May 14, 2015 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023

I recently re-posted my article about Publishing Scams and How they Work. I wonder why so many authors, after spending thousands of hours working on a book, fail to conduct a few critical hours of research that will save them … Continue reading →

Posted in Publishing, Self-Publishing

Publishing Scams and How they Work

The World's Greatest Book Posted on April 15, 2015 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023

Rarely do I republish a blog post, but I just got another email from a writer who didn’t do his homework. Many self-publishers start their book projects with unrealistic expectations and misunderstandings about how publishing works. A huge industry has … Continue reading →

Posted in Publishing, Self-Publishing

Book Giveaways: Are They Worth it?

The World's Greatest Book Posted on April 6, 2015 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023

Should you give away books for free? The value of book giveaways can’t be assessed by formula. The prevailing mythology suggests that the goal of publishing is to sell books, but the huge majority of indie publishers don’t do the … Continue reading →

Posted in Publishing, Self-Publishing

How to Produce Audiobooks with Amazon ACX

The World's Greatest Book Posted on February 26, 2015 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023

This article explains how to produce and market a professional quality audiobook using Amazon ACX. Through ACX (Audiobook Creation Exchange), I was able to audition voiceover talent, choose a professional producer, review the work in progress, and make my audiobook … Continue reading →

Posted in Publishing, Self-Publishing

Bad Kerning and Signage Awards

The World's Greatest Book Posted on October 8, 2014 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023

Introducing the Bad Kerning & Signage Awa rds. If written language is a cornerstone of civilization, type abuse constitutes a crime against enlightenment. These blemishes on the cultural landscape disappear all too easily in the sea of flashing messages, electronic billboards, and shop windows—but once you … Continue reading →

Posted in Self-Publishing

Book Cover Design: Moving from Screen to Printing Press

The World's Greatest Book Posted on October 3, 2014 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023

Once you have your book cover design looking spirited and professional on your computer screen, how can you ensure that your masterpiece will translate accurately to the printing press? Ink on paper is an entirely different medium from pixels on … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Design, Self-Publishing

Page Layout: Illustrated Books and the Rule of Thirds

The World's Greatest Book Posted on September 27, 2014 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023

This article explores page layout strategies for books based on the Rule of Thirds. A grid system based on traditional guidelines ensures harmonious proportions and placement of objects on a page. Page layout for books is governed by a range of factors. Trade … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Design, book typography, Self-Publishing

Simulating the Appearance of Traditional Print

The World's Greatest Book Posted on September 19, 2014 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023

Digital typography offers capabilities that printers working with hot lead type and wood type could only dream of. Digital type can be stretched and resized infinitely, justified within unusual boundaries, or wrapped around almost any shape. And yet, traditional letterpress … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Design, book typography, Self-Publishing

Book Design Basics – Use Hyphens for Justified Type

The World's Greatest Book Posted on August 2, 2014 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023

Hyphens are an important contributor to elegant, easy-to-read typography, especially when text is fully justified as is the convention in book typography. This article explains how justified text works, and how proper hyphenation improves the legibility of your type. Text … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Design, book typography, Self-Publishing

Book Design – Revisiting Classic Layout for Print and EBooks

The World's Greatest Book Posted on February 21, 2014 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023

Book design has changed since publishing became a gigantic industry. Typesetting was once performed by trained craftsmen who apprenticed to masters before inking their own plates. Phototypesetting arrived in the 1960s and by the late 1980s, digital publishing transferred the … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Design, book typography, Self-Publishing

Not Selling Books? Did you do the Math?

The World's Greatest Book Posted on February 16, 2014 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023

You threw a grand party but nobody came. Your novel is so good but you’re not selling books. What happened? You were supposed to appear on Oprah’s show. Terry Gross isn’t calling you for an interview. You may be an … Continue reading →

Posted in Publishing, Self-Publishing

Book Cover Design: Judging a Book by its Cover – Part 3

The World's Greatest Book Posted on September 17, 2013 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023

This third installment of Judging a Book by its Cover looks at great book cover designs that won the 2012 Design Observer 50 Books-50 Covers award. Part 1 explored how most book design rarely rises above “competent.” Part 2 looked … Continue reading →

Posted in book cover design, Book Design, Self-Publishing

Book Cover Design: Judging a Book by its Cover – Part 2

The World's Greatest Book Posted on September 7, 2013 by Dave BrickerJanuary 3, 2023

Part 1 of Book Cover Design: Judging a Book by its Cover critiqued “professional” covers taken from Amazon’s Editor’s choice list. Read that article first as it provides background for this one. The article looked at design elements that worked … Continue reading →

Posted in book cover design, Book Design, Self-Publishing

Blogging to Build an Author Platform

The World's Greatest Book Posted on August 28, 2013 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023

How can indie writers and self-publishers use a blog to build an author platform? The visitor stats for this site will soon cross the 150,000 page-view threshold and I expect to hit 200,000 by year’s end. Other bloggers have much … Continue reading →

Posted in Publishing, Self-Publishing

Book Cover Design: Judging a Book by Its Cover – Part 1

The World's Greatest Book Posted on August 6, 2013 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023

Nothing screams “amateur” like a poorly crafted book cover. The standards for book design aspired to by trade publishers are not all that high, but self-publishers routinely fall short of them. If you want your book to be taken seriously, … Continue reading →

Posted in book cover design, Book Design, Self-Publishing | Tagged book design, cover design

To Those Who Won’t Review Self-Published Books

The World's Greatest Book Posted on July 16, 2013 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023

This article began as a response to a post on a writers’ forum. An author submitted a book for review and had his work rejected out-of-hand simply because it was self-published. Self-publishers grumble about this insult regularly. The National Book … Continue reading →

Posted in Publishing, Self-Publishing

Book Cover Typefaces and Cover Design Horror Stories

The World's Greatest Book Posted on March 17, 2013 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023
scary man

I recently responded to a question in a writers’ forum from an author who was in the process of designing a cover for her novel set in a swamp in New Orleans. “I chose a ‘swampy’ font that hangs down … Continue reading →

Posted in book cover design, Book Design, Self-Publishing

Co-Publishing – Alternative Path or Another Trap for Writers?

The World's Greatest Book Posted on March 11, 2013 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023
co-publish

I recently published a post about the difference between vanity publishing and true self-publishing. Fundamentally, the article defines a publisher as “someone who takes the risk on a book.” Vanity Presses represent themselves as publishers and accept royalties while the … Continue reading →

Posted in Publishing, Self-Publishing

Are You Living the Writer’s Life?

The World's Greatest Book Posted on March 3, 2013 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023

Writers and publishers generally talk about selling books, choosing a path for printing and distribution, the importance of professional editing and design, and technical matters pertaining to grammar and style. But what about the path one takes to become a … Continue reading →

Posted in Publishing, Self-Publishing, Writing

Selling Your Book in Discussion Forums? Don’t!

The World's Greatest Book Posted on February 20, 2013 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023
donkey with book and famous writers

I’ve learned a great deal, shared a lot of information, and met some some clever folks on LinkedIn writers’ forums, but no matter what topic is being discussed, some clown always posts a link to his latest book. Really? Are you … Continue reading →

Posted in Publishing, Self-Publishing

Self-Publishing & Vanity Publishing: Confuse Them and Pay the Price

The World's Greatest Book Posted on February 4, 2013 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023

What is true self-publishing? What is the difference between self-publishing and “vanity publishing” or “subsidy publishing?” How do these differ from “traditional publishing?” Don’t publish until you understand these terms; that knowledge can make or break your book. Learn about … Continue reading →

Posted in Publishing, Self-Publishing

Reality Checklist for Self-Publishers

The World's Greatest Book Posted on January 21, 2013 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023

One question that loops endlessly on writers’ forums is “How can I sell more books?” The question is a natural one, but for many self-publishers, it betrays a certain lack of awareness about the publishing business. Lest I sound holier … Continue reading →

Posted in Publishing, Self-Publishing, Writing

Proposed Standards for Book Typography

The World's Greatest Book Posted on December 2, 2012 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023
typographic Standards

The word processor has placed new burdens on writers to understand how to use italics, big and small capitals, dashes, hyphens, initials, etc. Writers who do their own typesetting often produce mediocre results. Likewise, trade publishers sacrifice typographic aesthetics when … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Design, book typography, Self-Publishing

Gatekeepers and Self-Publishing

The World's Greatest Book Posted on November 25, 2012 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023

Indie publishers complain that the mainstream publishing establishment acts as a “gatekeeper.” Many readers rely on big publishing houses to filter out low quality books—even though trade publishers regularly print celebrity crap with impunity. Indie publishers often see themselves as … Continue reading →

Posted in Self-Publishing

Straight Talk About Book Reviews

The World's Greatest Book Posted on September 4, 2012 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023

Book  reviews are critically important. Have you ever read a book hoping it would get better, only to find that it never did? And how do you tell if an independently published book is any good? So many are poorly … Continue reading →

Posted in Publishing, Self-Publishing

Why You Need a Professional Editor

The World's Greatest Book Posted on August 17, 2012 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023

After completing the final draft of a manuscript for my fifth book, I wanted a reality check. I hired a professional editor and learned something important about self-publishing. No matter how capable you are as a writer and proofreader, you … Continue reading →

Posted in Publishing, Self-Publishing, Writing

Self-Publishing: Art or Business?

The World's Greatest Book Posted on February 6, 2012 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023

The very idea of “book marketing” is vague. It’s like subsuming advertising and fine art sales into a single realm of “image marketing.” And in tacking marketing on as the de facto second phase of writing a book, a lot of worthy artists’ resources are placed in jeopardy.

Continue reading →
Posted in Self-Publishing, Writing | Tagged art and business, book marketing, bookstores, fiction, independent publishers, indie publishers, marketing books, nonfiction, publishing, self publishing

Book Design Basics – Drop Caps and Initial Impressions

The World's Greatest Book Posted on January 23, 2012 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023

NITIAL CAPITALS have historical roots in the early days of book design; their use predates the printing press and the invention of moveable type. Today’s initial caps are not as fancy as those carefully rendered in gold leaf in ancient … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Design, book typography, Self-Publishing | Tagged baseline initials, book design, capitals, drop capitals, drop caps, hanging initials, InDesign, initial capitals, initial caps, initials, self publishing, typesetting, typography

What Graphic Designers Do (Article for GraphicDesign.com)

The World's Greatest Book Posted on January 5, 2012 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023

My latest article on GraphicDesign.com discusses the difference between designers and production artists. What exactly is design? Do designers build projects or do they have a larger and more valuable role. What do designers really do? How can you find … Continue reading →

Posted in Self-Publishing

Indie Publishers, Bookstores and Readers – the Indie Ecosystem

The World's Greatest Book Posted on December 26, 2011 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023
back2back

Indie publishers are everywhere and so are indie bookstores, but apart from their names, the two have little in common. “Independence” is a feelgood concept, but it’s often presented without any reference to that which a publisher or bookstore is independent … Continue reading →

Posted in Publishing, Self-Publishing | Tagged book distribution, book stores, bookstores, Dave Bricker, independent bookstores, independent publishers, independent readers, indie bookstores, indie publishers, indie readers, self publishing

Book Design Basics: Small Capitals – Avoiding Capital Offenses

The World's Greatest Book Posted on December 19, 2011 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023
electric chair

Use of Small Capitals—uppercase characters designed at lowercase scale—is one aspect of writing and book design that isn’t taught in grammar school. We all know every sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with a period. We all should … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Design, book typography, Self-Publishing | Tagged abbreviation, acronyms, big and small caps, book design, capital letters, capitalization, capitals, Dave Bricker, periods in acronyms, small capitals, small caps, typesetting, typography, writing

Self-Publishing IS Real Publishing-The Difference is up to You

The World's Greatest Book Posted on December 15, 2011 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023
publishers water fountain

The notion of real publishing­ as opposed to self-publ­ishing and the stigma surrounding it is obsolete. I have no objections to traditional publishers but every one of them started off as a “self-publi­sher” with a first book. I have pretty … Continue reading →

Posted in Publishing, Self-Publishing | Tagged book distribution, book returns, Dave Bricker, POD, print on demand, publishers, publishing, self published books, self publishing, traditional publishing, worldsgreatestbook.com

Organic Design: An Article for GraphicDesign.com

The World's Greatest Book Posted on December 12, 2011 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023
Organic Design

Organic Design – Real design doesn’t look like a technology demonstration; real design looks like the work of a living, thinking person. In handwork, scuff marks from sanders or extraneous saw marks are unacceptable flaws. In digital design, the same … Continue reading →

Posted in Self-Publishing | Tagged brushes, design, designer, graphic design, grunge, ink texture, organic design, paper texture, poster design, texture design, typography

Should Indie Publishers Lower Their Expectations?

The World's Greatest Book Posted on December 12, 2011 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023

Many authors start down the publishing road believing that printing books is the same as printing money, only to be disappointed by low returns and the amount of work involved. This guest article by novelist, poet and songwriter Richard Geller … Continue reading →

Posted in Publishing, Self-Publishing | Tagged ablogaboutsomething, asiteaboutsomething, author, Dave Bricker, fiction, indie publishing, indie-author, nonfiction, novel, pod publishing, poetry blog, publishing, publishing success, Richard Geller, self publishing, writers, writing

Book Design Basics – Dashes, Hyphens and Dots

The World's Greatest Book Posted on December 5, 2011 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023
telegraph

I particularly like this section on dashes, hyphens and dots because it goes beyond typographic aesthetics to explore how we can communicate more effectively as writers. The subtle intricacies of hyphens and dashes affect all authors whether they typeset their … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Design, book typography, Self-Publishing, Writing | Tagged book design, colon, dash, Dave Bricker, dot dot dot, ellipses, ellipsis, em-dash, en-dash, hyphen, hyphenation, parentheses, punctuation, typesetting, typography, writing

Discussion Forum Etiquette – Promoting Your Book

The World's Greatest Book Posted on November 28, 2011 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023
cheerleader

Discussion forums are a powerful medium for promoting your book, your art or your business. Facebook, LinkedIn and other communities are a major source of traffic for blogs and websites, but whether you post directly or embed links in responses … Continue reading →

Posted in Publishing, Self-Publishing | Tagged book marketing, book promotion, Dave Bricker, discussion groups, facebook, forum etiquette, forum rules, forums, linkedIn, listservs, netiquette, promoting your book, publishing, self publishing, social marketing, twitter

The World’s Greatest Book

The World's Greatest Book Posted on November 23, 2011 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023

I’m Dave Bricker,MFA: speaker, author, editor, graphic designer, interactive developer, and design educator. I help writers turn well-crafted manuscripts into beautiful, high-quality books. My website offers straight talk for writers about producing and marketing excellent books, eBook technology, book design, … Continue reading →

Posted in Self-Publishing | Tagged Dave Bricker

Book Design Basics Part 3: Running The Numbers

The World's Greatest Book Posted on November 21, 2011 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023
n6153P >looq

Part 3 of Book Design Basics explores better ways to present numbers on your pages. Numbers (called figures) look simple at first glance, but they present interesting typesetting challenges. Many digital typefaces offer several number styles but few designers know … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Design, book typography, Self-Publishing | Tagged book block, book design, bookblock, Dave Bricker, expert fonts, figures, fonts, InDesign, kerning, leading, letter spacing, lining figures, margins, numbers, oldstyle figures, optical margins, page design, page layout, spaces, tabular figures, type design, typefaces, typesetting, typography

Book Typography: The Crystal Goblet by Beatrice Warde

The World's Greatest Book Posted on November 10, 2011 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023
Beatrice Warde

Here is the first of a series of occasional posts that explore the contributions of great typographers and typography books to the book designer’s art. Designers, writers and publishers will benefit from Beatrice Warde’s eloquent perspectives on the craft of … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Design, book typography, Self-Publishing | Tagged Beatrice Warde, book design, broadsheet, crystal goblet, Dave Bricker, monotype, printing office, self publishing, Stanley Morrison, this is a printing office, type, type design

Book Design Basics Part 2: Optical Margins, Indents and Periods

The World's Greatest Book Posted on November 3, 2011 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023
wood type

Part 2 of Fundamentals of Book Design explores optical margins, paragraph formatting and spaces. Read about margins, layout and leading in Part 1. The self-publishing revolution is (aside from the Internet) the greatest thing ever to happen to freedom of … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Design, book typography, Self-Publishing | Tagged book block, book design, bookblock, Canons of Page Design, CMOS, consecutive spaces, Dave Bricker, double spaces, indent, InDesign, kerning, leading, letter spacing, margins, MLA, optical margins, page design, page layout, spaces, Tschichold, type design, typesetting, typography, Van de Graaf

Book Design Basics Part 1: Margins and Leading

The World's Greatest Book Posted on October 24, 2011 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023
book designer

Book design is a lost art. Though book design discussions usually focus on covers, consider how much more time a reader spends staring at the text. An elegant book block is just as important. Decades ago, professional tradesmen practiced the … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Design, book typography, Self-Publishing | Tagged book block, book design, bookblock, Canons of Page Design, Dave Bricker, leading, margins, page design, page layout, Tschichold, type design, typesetting, typography, Van de Graaf

Book Distributors: What’s in it for Publishers?

The World's Greatest Book Posted on October 10, 2011 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023

There is a direct relationship between the number of sales you can expect from a book distributor and the value-added services they provide to publishers and readers. Publishers are best served to ally themselves with book distributors that do the … Continue reading →

Posted in Publishing, Self-Publishing | Tagged amazon, barnes and noble, book distributors, book previews, book retailers, bookstores, google books, iBookstore, iPad, itunes, itunes bookstore, kindle, kindle fire, kindle vs. iPad, nook, Pubit!, publishing

Sewing Your Own Parachute – Advice About Book Covers

The World's Greatest Book Posted on September 23, 2011 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023

I recently responded to an article on Publishing Perspectives by Andrew Pantoja that innocently advises self-publishers about sources for cheap book covers. It is technically easy to create your own cover; therein lies the problem. It’s also easy to sew … Continue reading →

Posted in book cover design, Book Design, Self-Publishing | Tagged 99designs, book design, cover design, Dave Bricker, David Bricker, graphic design, publishing, self publishing

Are Self-Published Books Really Crap?

The World's Greatest Book Posted on September 13, 2011 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023

From an Internet writer’s forum: Comment: I see self-publishing as vanity publishing. There’s a reason there’s a traditional route; it really does sift out the crap. I may not be a published author, but I’ll be damned before I chuck … Continue reading →

Posted in Publishing, Self-Publishing | Tagged agents, Books, bookstores, editors, press, publishers, publishing, self publishing, traditional publishing, vanity publishing, writing

Small Publishers Should Stop Watching the Stars

The World's Greatest Book Posted on September 8, 2011 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023

It’s the latest big deal in publishing: Big publishers are being sued; accused of using the ‘agency model,’ to keep prices of eBooks artificially high. Amazon, the world’s largest bookseller, is complying but only offering agency terms to the Big … Continue reading →

Posted in Publishing, Self-Publishing | Tagged Agency model, amazon, apple, Books, booksellers, eBooks, inependent publishers, publishers, publishing, publishing lawsuit, self-publishers

Self-Publishers Should Not Be Self-Editors

The World's Greatest Book Posted on August 19, 2011 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023

Editing is one of the first hurdles you’ll encounter as an independent writer. Your fan club is your enemy. Encouraging friends who think it’s “wonderful you actually wrote a book” are not unbiased editors. A good editor will put your … Continue reading →

Posted in Publishing, Self-Publishing, Writing | Tagged bricker, editing, editor, proofreading, publishing, self publishing, writing

A World Without Borders – The End of The Bookstore

The World's Greatest Book Posted on July 27, 2011 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023
A World Without Borders

In the wake of Borders’ bankruptcy, I’ve read various theories about what led to the bookseller’s demise. Monday morning quarterbacking inevitably follows someone else’s failure; it’s easy to stand at the curb and analyze the tire tracks, but Borders’ crash … Continue reading →

Posted in Publishing, Self-Publishing

Evolution of a Book Cover

The World's Greatest Book Posted on April 5, 2011 by Dave BrickerJanuary 4, 2023

When designing the cover for my own novel, Waves, I tried a number of approaches before settling on a design that worked for me. This article details my process. Before I even finished writing, I played around with an idea, … Continue reading →

Posted in book cover design, Book Design, Self-Publishing

Stop Bashing Self-Published Books

The World's Greatest Book Posted on March 19, 2011 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023

I regularly hear people bashing self-published books as universally “crappy.” Many independent writers do publish books with amateurish covers and poorly edited text typeset with a word processor, but there are “crappy” books released by major publishers, and high quality … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Design, Publishing, Self-Publishing

Indy and Traditional Publishers Are Not Competitors

The World's Greatest Book Posted on March 4, 2011 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023

Today’s post is from Lisa Ryan, CEO and Lead Strategist at Tinley+Ryan, former Marketing Manager of On-Demand Publishing Services at Amazon.com and former Vice President of Marketing at BookSurge. I’m honored to have your contribution, Lisa. On a macro-level, independent … Continue reading →

Posted in Publishing, Self-Publishing | Tagged Lisa Ryan, traditional publishing

Word Processors and MS Word Alternatives

The World's Greatest Book Posted on November 11, 2010 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023

A good word processor is an essential writing and editing tool, but many authors struggle with expense, computer problems and software issues. Though Microsoft Word is the standard for word processing, there are excellent, free and commercial alternatives.

Continue reading →
Posted in Publishing, Self-Publishing, Writing

Self-Publishing? Get Real!

The World's Greatest Book Posted on October 29, 2010 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023

There are plenty of good reasons to self-publish, but not all are profit-oriented or even rational. Before you invest in your book, take a look in the mirror and ask yourself some serious questions. Understand what you’re getting into and define success at its proper place on the spectrum between retail sales and artistic satisfaction. With some clarity, planning and management of expectations, even a modest publishing venture can be rewarding and satisfying.

Continue reading →
Posted in Publishing, Self-Publishing

Stop Picking on POD

The World's Greatest Book Posted on October 20, 2010 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023

A great technology is getting a bad rap for the wrong reasons. Print On Demand (POD) technology is often mislabeled “Publish On Demand,” which consequently associates it with the Vanity Publishing world; a realm inhabited by a few reputable operators and a large number of scammers waiting to prey on naive writers. While it’s true most Vanity Publishers do rely on POD technology, the majority of reputable self-publishers and many small traditional publishers do, too. POD is entirely disconnected from matters related to whether you own your own ISBN numbers, share rights and royalties with a third party, own your cover artwork or choose one distribution chain over another. It’s just a digital book-manufacturing technology. After all the business arrangements are decided on, a file is sent to a POD printer and books are then manufactured to order in quantities as small as a single book. POD is just a printing technology—and it’s a great one.

Continue reading →
Posted in Publishing, Self-Publishing

Fairy Tale Endings and Fairy Tale Publishing Ventures

The World's Greatest Book Posted on October 11, 2010 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023

All the connections, marketing strategies, publicity packages, and so on won’t save a mediocre book from itself.
I’d like to believe this is true. It’s the writer in me. The good guy should win. Nobody likes a story where someone struggles to be the best, works hard, overcomes obstacles, spends all their money on a long shot and then gets ignored.
Unfortunately, good marketing saves mediocre books from themselves all the time.

Continue reading →
Posted in Book Design, Publishing, Self-Publishing

Many Unhappy Returns – Think Outside the Bookstore

The World's Greatest Book Posted on October 5, 2010 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023

If you’re hoping to have mainstream bookstore distribution, using a Vanity Press may present some obstacles. Book buyers will likely tell you, “your book may be excellent, but you’re using a Vanity Publisher and the vast majority of their books … Continue reading →

Posted in Publishing, Self-Publishing | Tagged book buyers, bookstores, POD, publishing, retail, returns, vanity publishers

POD, Vanity Presses and Publishing

The World's Greatest Book Posted on September 24, 2010 by Dave BrickerJanuary 2, 2023

There is a tendency to refer to “POD Publishers” with disdain, but POD is just a printing technology. Without POD, we’d all be sitting on stacks of books, handling fulfillment ourselves, and praying for the day when we get our closet space back.

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Posted in Publishing, Self-Publishing | Tagged amazon, authoring, book covers, book design, book printing, createspace, Dave Bricker, eBooks, iBook, iBookstore, iPad, kindle, lightning source, nook, One Hour Guide, publishing, self publishing, The Dance, writers, writing

Tips For Book Cover Design

The World's Greatest Book Posted on September 23, 2010 by Dave BrickerJanuary 7, 2023

Most book designers make the same errors. One sore spot for me and with many of my university design students, is typography.

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Posted in book cover design, Book Design, Self-Publishing | Tagged amazon, authoring, book covers, book design, book printing, createspace, Dave Bricker, eBooks, iBook, iBookstore, iPad, kindle, lightning source, nook, One Hour Guide, publishing, self publishing, The Dance, writers, writing
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