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  1. joanna

    I'm finally joining the crowd!

    PUBLISHING 
    Not offended, need to add more smiles after my tongue in cheek replies ;) I can see where you are coming from, but the kind of busy design as your second example isn't always the best choice for the topic. Also from personal experience pre-mades can be hard to produce to the same level as a...
  2. joanna

    I'm finally joining the crowd!

    PUBLISHING 
    @britnidanielle Had some advice but other beat me to it ;) You might want to add your social media details if you have any under your site url too. The black border is quite stark you could try using a darker version of the background colour. Also you could try using the title font from the...
  3. joanna

    I'm finally joining the crowd!

    PUBLISHING 
    Well you stirred the pot claiming people don't read paper books any more ;) Personally I'm in the 90% kindle reading crowd now. But, there are more benefits to doing CS than just those potential extra readers: - you'll get accurate page count on Amazon rather than the estimate when you link the...
  4. joanna

    [Progress Thread] Fiction Ebook

    PUBLISHING 
    Just wanted to chime in on the DWS topic. There's a lot of truth to it, but also different people write in different ways. Unless you're really talented or have honed the craft side of writing for a while you're rough / first draft might not be of publishing quality. If I recall correctly DWS...
  5. joanna

    [PROGRESS THREAD]: Six-figure Fiction

    PUBLISHING 
    Uhm, yeah, after reading that I felt as if someone was calling me out by name... There's a reason I still haven't started my own progress thread. Especially 2) the old friend "fear of failure" raises its ugly head... This one always gets to me, too. I'm definitely not a fast writer. So far...
  6. joanna

    Progress thread: Apemania's Sword & Sorcery fiction

    PUBLISHING 
    I love having covers done while I'm still writing. :) The photo is quite nice on that cover. but not sure it says Sword & Sorcery to me. Maybe S&S Erotica if I had to guess ;) But in all seriousness, I like my own covers but will be changing them once I save up, because fantasy really does tend...
  7. joanna

    [Progression thread] Building a Saas dedicated to author and writing

    SAAS / APPS EXECUTION 
    Interesting idea. I'd be curious to follow your progress and see how this develops and what is your USP. Are you focused on fiction / non-fiction or both? As a writer-developer I've been mulling over a Saas service for authors too, but the more time I spend writing the more the idea scope...
  8. joanna

    Progress thread: Apemania's Sword & Sorcery fiction

    PUBLISHING 
    Congratulations on starting and keeping a good pace there. I always find my writing speed soooo slow. I like your idea, and if you keep it humorous and light it can work really well, even if it is obvious it is based on a RPG system. :) Some of my fantasy writing is based on the scenarios I...
  9. joanna

    Hello from Denver - self publishing success

    GOLD! 
    @webcomber - I would say no point wasting your money on "cover tools" - the ones that have decent customizability will be complex and clunky, and you'll spend not much less time learning these than just learning a photo editing tool. And the simple ones, will give you well, simple covers, which...
  10. joanna

    Hello from Denver - self publishing success

    GOLD! 
    Well I guess you could use it as a girlfriend filter ;) or a conversation starter... My fiance reads all my books including erotica - he's my proofreader, before I send them to the proper editor. A) It's a good idea to talk with your partner so that they realize which books/kinks are just...
  11. joanna

    Hello from Denver - self publishing success

    GOLD! 
    Price matching is also called perma-free :) It takes a while from my experience. The more people you can get to click on the link like Held for Ransom explained, the higher the chances Amazon will do it (and the quicker it might happen). Another thing to note is that apparently they are more...
  12. joanna

    Hello from Denver - self publishing success

    GOLD! 
    True :) And let's not forget that for some readers/genres it could be a positive rather than a negative. People love these books, while personally I want to chuck them out the window ;)
  13. joanna

    Hello from Denver - self publishing success

    GOLD! 
    Just wanted to chime in on the POV and tense debate. There's the already mentioned genre preference, but at the end of the day if you can write so that the reader doesn't notice a difference, than I guess it doesn't matter so much. Personally I find myself easily annoyed by badly written 1st...
  14. joanna

    Best Places for Cover Images?

    PUBLISHING 
    Uhm, you'd be surprised. While I worked for a web agency (in the UK, mind you) we almost got fined several thousand GBP for using an unlicensed stock image (I can't remember the exact amount as it was a few years back). To make things more bizarre we had used a legit image from a completely...
  15. joanna

    Hello from Denver - self publishing success

    GOLD! 
    Is it focused on characters then, or more general writer advice? Try to use some elements that hint at the learning aspect. Also some indication that it's directed at (aspiring) writers would help. Using pens, or books as symbols can be a bit cliche, but does get the point across, or you could...
  16. joanna

    Best Places for Cover Images?

    PUBLISHING 
    I use Thinkstockphotos.com When I downgraded from the extended licence to the regular one (didn't need merchandise rights any more) I had them confirm that the licence is still OK for books/ebooks. There is a limit on the number of copies - from the top of my head it was about 500k. But if your...
  17. joanna

    Hello from Denver - self publishing success

    GOLD! 
    Hmm... I'd need to know a bit more about your book. But first of all I'd try to vary the word size in the title, the fact that it's about "character development" gets a bit lost atm. Maybe the title overall needs reworking - however I suck at copywriting so nothing really comes to mind. Looking...
  18. joanna

    How do you get REAL HONEST reviews for your eBook?

    PUBLISHING 
    You don't say how exactly are you approaching people on the forums, but in general the best way to get reviews is to give away free copies to people who are the closest match to your target readers. It can be time consuming, but approaching readers one by one rises your chances of obtaining...
  19. joanna

    Hello from Denver - self publishing success

    GOLD! 
    It LOOKS great, professional and all, definitely eye catching. However I'm not sure if the design is genre appropriate. My first thought was fiction (thriller, post-apocalyptic, or drama/life story?), second thought - self help guide of some sorts, then I had to read the title a few times, to...
  20. joanna

    Hello from Denver - self publishing success

    GOLD! 
    In general "s/he/name said" is considered to be invisible to the reader, so don't worry too much about these repeating. As for any extra descriptions I have to agree with the above - the reader doesn't need to know about every er scratching, neck rubbing, nose picking, etc. If the character...

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