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5 Minute Indie Insights
United States
Registrace 13. 12. 2023
Weekly insights into self-publishing your novel, brought to you by Jocelyn Lindsay and Kathryn Dodson.
Should you give your book away?
You've invested time and money into your novel, should you give it away? We talk about how why you might want to in order to build your author career and delve in to the different ways this can happen.
zhlédnutí: 10
Video
What info should you give your cover designer?
zhlédnutí 7Před dnem
Your cover is your number one marketing asset, and you've found a professional book cover designer. In this episode we let you know what information about your book you should give your designer to get a cover that will entice readers.
Amazon A+ content
zhlédnutí 19Před 14 dny
We'll show you what A content is, and how you can use it to enhance your Amazon product page in this episode of 5 Minute Indie Insights.
Business decision or emotional decision?
zhlédnutí 9Před 21 dnem
When you write, you write from your heart. When you publish and market your novel, you need to do that from your head and make the best business possible. We've got tips on how to change your perspective.
A favorite tool: Atticus
zhlédnutí 16Před měsícem
Atticus is a Windows-compatible program for formating your novel. Learn why to use it and how it works in this episode of 5 Minute Indie Insights.
Am I good enough (validation)
zhlédnutí 10Před měsícem
Do you have that voice in your head that questions whether your're good enough to publish novels? It can be especially hard as an indie author when you don't have an agent or publisher guiding the process. We talk about it on this episode of 5 Minute Indie Insights.
Writing a series
zhlédnutí 10Před měsícem
Should you write a series or a stand-alone novel (or novels)? We talk about this much-debated topic for indie authors in this episode.
Is it good enough to publish?
zhlédnutí 11Před měsícem
Yay! You've written a book! How do you know when to stop editing and begin publishing? We'll talk about it.
What should you do about bad reviews?
zhlédnutí 15Před měsícem
Good reviews are wonderful and bad reviews are inevitable. As an author, what should you do about bad reviews?
Buy your URL
zhlédnutí 12Před 2 měsíci
Even if you're not ready to build a website, you need to obtain your URL. We'll break down the how and the why of it in this episode.
The how and why of reader reviews
zhlédnutí 16Před 2 měsíci
How important is it to have reader reviews and how do you get them, anyway? We delve into it in this episode.
Blurbs
zhlédnutí 21Před 2 měsíci
Your back-cover blurb is your second most important marketing asset. Why it's important, and what should it include in this episode.
2024 goals - midyear update
zhlédnutí 8Před 2 měsíci
We started the year with some ambitious goals for 2024, and midway through, we're doing better on some of them than others. Are your goals similar? We'd love to hear about it.
Back up your work
zhlédnutí 7Před 3 měsíci
A novel is a terrible thing to lose. Learn how to protect it in this episode of 5 Minute Indie Insights.
When will my books make money?
zhlédnutí 23Před 3 měsíci
Everyone dreams of hitting it big and getting rich. We'll break down what's more likely to happen in this episode of 5 Minute Indie Insights. You can make it as a career author. Join us to learn what it takes.
Indie vs. Traditional Publishing: Part 2
zhlédnutí 6Před 4 měsíci
Indie vs. Traditional Publishing: Part 2
Traditional vs. Indie Publishing: Part 1
zhlédnutí 8Před 5 měsíci
Traditional vs. Indie Publishing: Part 1
I get it and I'm not afraid to give away but... What are suggestions for 1st time authors, not writing a series? Are there certain places to give away for non-fiction authors?
The first place I'd go would be Google, and just do a search on "nonfiction promo sites." Another place to look would be Reedsy, they have a great site for finding promos: blog.reedsy.com/book-promotion-services/ Some of the sites that promo fiction also promo nonfiction.
That's so cool! I would have never thought about that. 💜
Glad to hear this was helpful! :) Are you thinking of making A+ content?
@5MinuteIndieInsights I mean I'm always thinking about creating something! First I have to figure out how to get my books on Amazon. 😉
Great. Another excuse for me to create AI art. 😃 I don't have anything listed on Amazon, but you've made me realize I should be adding A+ content for everything on my author website.
Hah! 😂Every opportunity to show your readers why they need to read your book is another opportunity to create A+ content!!
Love your insights into your editing process. This podcast is validating for me, and a kick in the butt to let it go. Just what I needed.
So happy to hear this! :) Let us know if you have any questions you want us to cover.
Great stuff. But please, Kathy needs to move closer to her mic, her voice is way soft.
Jocelyn: And I'm loud. ;) Will make sure to check this next recording. Thank you for the feedback.
Thanks!
You're so welcome! :)
Great advice to buy and park your URLs. Not sure how true this is, but I've heard anecdotal evidence if you search for your potential URL and don't buy the domain name on a bargain basement domain registrar, they will 'buy' it and offer to sell it for a premium price.
Honestly, that wouldn't surprise me. Prices have increased in recent years for domains with common words and phrases.
I feel seen 😂❤
Yay! Yeah. Sometimes it's so hard to stay focused!
I cannot endorse this video enough. I installed, configured and maintained storage and backup systems for businesses of all sizes for over 20 years. What I learned is you cannot be paranoid enough about backup. "If it doesn't exist in at least two different places, it doesn't exist."
Thank you. :) Yes, we absolutely agree with you. There's no such thing as being too paranoid when it comes to backups.
"Because YOU NEED TO WRITE" has me lolol...thank you as always for these great insights ladies!
You're so welcome! We're thrilled you're finding them helpful and entertaining! We're having all kinds of fun creating them.
I'm so glad you enjoyed it. We certainly have fun making them.
Thank you for this! Love how short the message is and how honest.
You're welcome! We try and keep ourselves to 5 minutes. There's a few videos that go over that, but the topics are more involved or we just have more to say. We're so glad you find the videos useful. Thank you for being here and joining us on this adventure!
Great video. I've heard this message from other creative communities as well - music, art, indie game dev - it's a marathon. Keep creating and you will find your audience and begin making money. Enjoy the journey.
It's absolutely a marathon. As much as we'd like it to be otherwise. And if everything happened all at once, we'd implode. I think we see that with a lot of celebrities that flash in the pan. They have huge success, and can't handle it.
Failing to Fail: The Spiderweb Way is an amazing story from the Game Developer's Conference of a tiny company (2 people) that is a true 'marathon' success. They do what authors do - build a back catalog and provide a lot of related/repackaged content. czcams.com/video/stxVBJem3Rs/video.html
From the outside, author success looks easy and fast. From the inside, it's a slog. But I'd rather be writing than doing anything else (except making these videos).
Thank you for the reality check and pep talk.
You're welcome! You're doing exactly what you need to be right now. Keep going forward!! It will happen.
I'm a simple gal and like Graham Crackers. But when I am really confronted I go for long walks.
Hi Lori. It's good to see your smiling face. (*A+ editor. I highly recommend her.)
We agree! She's fantastic, and we're so glad to hear she's helping you. Thanks for letting us know! :D
I feel seen.
It's definitely a lot! Are you juggling cat and chainsaws and torches right now? :)
Oops, I forgot to wait for instructions. I am writing a detective series. My first book should be published in 2025 by CoffeePress. My idea for the book was sort of based on the old television series from the 1960s called The Fugitive. (You may remember the movie starring Harrison Ford.) In the series, a doctor is suspected of killing his wife but he said a one-armed man killed her and he set out to find that man to prove his innocence. Okay, so hear me out for a moment. I thought what if a detective had a case (a cold case) that he wanted to solve and as he solved his current case clues surfaced in that old case. Then I went deeper, what if his older brother died in a mysterious hit-and-run and to solve that mystery he became a detective. Each book is connected, not unlike a fantasy trilogy with an overarching quest. Anyway, thanks for the tips on nurturing readers. I needed to hear that.
Congratulations on publishing in 2025! Your story sounds like a mind bending read. What fun. You're so welcome for the tips. If there's anything else you need to hear, let us know and we'd be happy to tell you! HAHAHA! :D
So good. Thank you.
If each format of a book has a separate ISBN, how are sales numbers for a novel aggregated to be considered for lists like the New York Times bestsellers? As a self-publisher, is that something you have to track and submit yourself? Thanx.
When you look at the NYT lists (www.nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/), you'll see they have different lists for combined print and ebook, hardcover, etc... The NYT list is primarily based on bookstore sales and they don't publish how exactly the books are chosen (here's one article about that among many: observer.com/2016/02/the-truth-about-the-new-york-times-and-wall-street-journal-bestseller-lists/). You don't get to submit to the list.
Aloha ladies, I'm writing a mystery novel that features a homicide detective working with an astrologer. It's been years in the making, but I will publish it this summer. I'm relying on you to help me through this new and sometimes overwhelming territory of self-publishing.
Rachel - we're happy to help and congratulations on deciding to publish! Please let us know if there is something particular you'd like to hear about. We've planned over 100 episodes (so far), but we're always looking for new ideas and are happy to publish something early if authors want to know more about it. Thanks for commenting!
Nice to hear your thoughts (and to know that they echo mine!) I find that often, asking a question and inviting your subscribers to email you with their comments encourages engagement.
Love it! What newsletter topic has received the most engagement?
@@5MinuteIndieInsights interestingly, it had nothing to do with books. The topic was traditions of my family during Christmas - mostly focusing on the food we consumed. I asked people to share their traditions and then selected some of the responses and highlighted them in the next newsletter. One subscriber even sent me a Christmas card, from Japan!! It took ages to arrive.
@@charlottemorgantiauthor596 Love this! What a great idea.
Get Covers worked great for me! 💜
Yay! I'm so glad to hear this. They do great work.
I've used them for two of my novels and both my reader magnets.
Thank you for the resources! Great ideas!
You're so welcome! :)
This was excellent! Thank you both for taking the time to share. A GREAT freebie would be K. Dobsons chart she folls in. I've seen this twice now and the more I see the more I love the organization. So smart! Best Katy
Great idea! You can find it here: www.nextstepbookcoach.com/bookinfo
AWESOME! Thank YOU!@@5MinuteIndieInsights
What about a "picture book"? I have taken extensive photos of locations I use in my book. I could assemble an album of photos and explain why I used the locations. What do you think?
I love this idea. Like a novel travel guide? Do you think something like this would be more valuable to a reader before they read the book, or after? If it's after, you might consider using them for bonuses once readers have signed up. That could be after they... (1) Sign up for your newsletter, "Hey, here's an awesome gift to say thank you." (2) Or after they read the book, and click a QR code at the back, "Hey, thanks for reading this book, now that you've read it, here's a gift to say thank you." Since I happen to know you're writing a series, you could have different "picture books" for each book. Have you thought about creating the guide from the POV of one of the characters? Oh look, now you've got me started with ideas....... :)
This was awesome! Congrats on the increase in email list!
Thanks so much! It's been fun to watch it grow.
this was great! Very straight forward...made me think!
Fantastic! So glad you liked it. What are you thinking about? :D
That was super helpful, a little daunting but very useful! 💜
The nice thing? You can always change them if they don't work.
I find this a little trickier for my nonfiction book. 💜
It is a little trickier, but totally doable. A few quickie ideas include: -- First chapter of the book. -- A condensed version of a chapter with a worksheet. -- A reference guide. Depends really on what your book is about and the topic is covers. Since I know what your book is about, I have some specific ideas.... :)
Yay, Beta readers! 💜
Good beta readers are THE BEST. <3
Is there a conference you'd suggest for new or dabbling writers looking for inspiration?
I always recommend Author Nation (www.authornation.live/). It's in Vegas this November. It has a really fabulous community element. Doesn't matter where you are on the journey, they work very hard to help writers be successful.
I love fancy Canva graphics too! 💜
It feels like this is much more relevant for fiction writing, is that true?
Love this question! Within nonfiction you can have memoir, self-help, historical, academic, biography, travel, philosophy, spirituality/religion, cookbooks... etc. And knowing what kind of nonfiction you're writing will help you determine your audience, cover design, formatting, marketing, Amazon categories, keywords, and so on.
I appreciate you ladies getting more comfortable on these! 💜 Great advice as usual. 😊
Thank you ! I'm excited for you to see the upcoming videos. 🤩
Stop talking about me! 😂
You're in good company!! 🤣🤪🤣
Yeah - me too!
Thank you, ladies. I have to remind myself baby steps will get me to the top of Everest (and back home again safely). What that says to me in writing is: to keep to a daily word count that I can accomplish and manage my tenuous sanity. 😄
Thank you for watching! Yes. Baby steps. We are constantly telling each other, "We don't have to go far, we just have to go forward." It's become our mantra. Keep going forward. You got this. :)
Never were more truer words spoken! If I see one more long dress with a long bow down the back I'll ... I wrote my novel at a time when there weren't any bows! Problem solved! Thanks for doing this !
Hahahah! You're absolutely right. And I love that bit of info, that bows didn't exist in the time period you're writing in. I think most people would never think of that. Thanks so much for watching and commenting!
AWESOME! This was great! I appreciate the upbeat tone and can't wait to see more!
Thanks! We love doing these. We're having so much fun. And we have so many more already planned! We have months of content....
Great advice.
Thanks for watching Brie! Yes, this week's insight is SO important and can be so difficult to listen to.
Partnership is the best, especially with awesome ladies like you two!
We agree! We definitely have a lot of fun.
Yay! Yay! Yay!
Yay! Thank you for being here and watching! 🙌🙌🙌
I might be jumping the gun, but, are you going to recommend line editors or book cover artists/designers? Like I say, I could be jumping the gun cause self-publishing is next.
It's next for you? Exciting! It's not in the next few weeks, but we could definitely add it. Or maybe we should just put together a list of resources. There are so many cover artists that it's so overwhelming. We've been researching and testing out designers this last year. Would you find something like that helpful?
Very cool! Looking forward to your insights!
Us too! Hah!