Streamline Publishing presents Events for Authors

Bookings are now open for a series of author-centric events held by Streamline Publishing here in Melbourne. Located above the Eltham bookstore.

• June 19: Jackie French AM, well-loved author for all ages, wombat whisperer, guest TV gardener and conservationist, will talk to us via private Zoom on ‘Writing for Children’. Entry to this Zoom event includes a Jackie French paperback title of your choice and light refreshments.

• June 26: Bookseller Meera Govil: ‘How readers, writers, illustrators, publishers and booksellers can create meaningful books’.

• July 3: Editor Cathy Oliver: ‘What makes the best Non-fiction books for children?’

More events to come in August:

August 7 ‘Publishing options in 2022’.
Traditional, Self, Indie? Open access? What do these terms mean and which is right for you? What costs are typical?

August 14 ‘The publishing process’.
From the final first manuscript to a finished book: what do editors do? Editorial and production schedules and costs. How much control will you have over your work?

August 21 ‘What do publishers want in submissions?’
Tips and some models.

Online Resources and Advice for Independent Authors

If you are a veteran writer who has been in the industry before the internet boom, you may already have known what it was like when writers had to struggle with writing and even more so trying to find a good publisher. This could be why the market stayed relatively small. At least for the talented ones with limited resources and had geographical challenges.

Fortunately, nowadays, with some knowledge and the willingness to labor for your niche and craft, you finally get the opportunity. That is the chance to be able to reach an audience base that would otherwise have taken you forever to find.

 Let's look into some of our recommendations of the best sources on resources for Independent Authors.

Let's Get Digital: How to Self-Publish, And Why You Should (Fourth Edition) (Let's Get Publishing Book 1) by David Gaughran

About the author:
Apart from being an author of a practical guide such as "Let's Get Digital," David writes historical fiction and science-fiction books under a pen name. This particular book has undergone revisions to meet the needs of the self-publishing writer of today, And it includes bonus resources as well. His engaging writing style is simple enough to understand but not to the point of being too simplistic. He covers the essential basics such as:

• Using tried and tested marketing strategies that work to increase sales of your book

• Getting the best editors without spending a ton.

• Attracting more readers by improving how your brand is presented.

• Making your eBooks easy to find, and so much more.

Our Take:

This book will help the new writer who wants to do it right the first time. That is, getting discovered and earning well in the process. Remarkably, it doesn't only cater to newbies but will also be a helpful resource for the more experienced writer who needs updates to this ever-changing landscape of internet publishing.

Overall, this resource is as comprehensive and as informative as you can get. It is a complete go-to reference for both the new and veteran writers alike.

How to Market a Book: Overperform in a Crowded Market (Reedsy Marketing Guides Book 1) by Ricardo Fayet

Ricardo Fayet is an author/consultant and co-founder of Reedsy, an online marketplace that connects authors with editors, cover designers, translators, and publishers. The platform has been successfully helping hundreds in marketing, online ads, growing their mailing lists, and establishing news streams of income.

About the Book

The book itself is a comprehensive distillation of years of coaching and teaching writers to become full-time authors and eventually make a good living out of their writing skills. Just be aware that some points of view of this author are not of an independent publishing writer since he works as a marketer and concentrates on the publishing business.

Nevertheless, you will find everything you need in this book on how to maximize the tools of the internet to snag better revenue and increase readership. He even includes essential tips on logo design to make your book appear even more attractive.

Our take:

This book is all about finding your market and growing it-a practical way of looking at things to help you keep your passion by being profitable too.

Amazon Ads Unleashed: Advanced Publishing and Marketing Strategies for Indie Authors (Self-publishing Guide.) by Robert J Ryan

This book goes into reaching in and tapping into a buying audience and converting clicks into sales. It also talks about what types of ads to avoid and the best practices for optimization. It does a no-nonsense look at how Amazon Ads works. Most of the time, it challenges the effectiveness of Amazon ads and offers methods on how to maximize them and make them work for you.

It takes on a more rigid stance compared to the softer views of other books. Nevertheless, being on top in sales rank and being one of the best sellers in this category does make it a credible source. This is especially if the friend who recommends it to you has already doubled their revenue.

Our Take:

If this book is recommended and in itself has sold more than the others of the same category, then it should be a must-have. Never mind that it is hard to read, provided that it is rich in reference and is an expert in the subject matter at hand, it will profit the author both in the short and long term.

Amazon Selling Services from Helium 10

Helium 10 is an all-in-one Amazon software that will help you sell your self-published book. Assembly recently acquired this software in 2019, which was aimed at helping small businesses increase their revenue through the use of content, education, and community. This software makes use of state-of-the-art resources that contain optimization tools that are intuitive and useful to help you grow your business.

It focuses on research and boosting the visibility of your product in the Amazon search engine.

Our Take:

Helium 10 doesn't claim to produce great listings directly, nor does it promise to increase your revenue for you automatically. But with its advanced management tools puts you in a position that will give you all the opportunities to promote your product on the world's bestselling platform. Not to mention that, currently, Helium 10 is an industry leader in its category today.

With over 1+ million users and 4 billion+ in monthly Amazon GMV, it lets its numbers speak for themselves. And for writers who like real-time marketing leverage using technology, this software is precisely what you need.

The Creative Penn with Joanna Penn

A bestselling author of New York Times and USA Today, Joanna Penn is also a podcaster, speaker, and an awarded entrepreneur. Enough said about her credibility. Ms. Penn has authored over 30 books and sold more than 600,000 copies in 162 countries, translated into 5 languages.

She is offering her book for aspiring writers entitled: "Author 2.0 Blueprint".

She has her website "The Creative Penn."m where she aims to help writers learn the basics of building a "platform" to market a book. She shares her personal experience over the past few years, detailing how she effectively marketed her book and generated and still generates sales as a best-selling author.

Our Take:

Her book "Author 2.0" is now available for free of which can be downloaded directly from her site after you sign up. The book itself is not about writing your best but how to market after writing your masterwork. Learning the pros and cons of publishing with necessary apparatuses like advances, contacts, and royalties, all these coming from the pro herself, is definitely worth the read.

Conclusion

Today, the book publishing landscape for authors has been turned on its head, as it carries both opportunities and some risks. Even minute details like logo design may make or break your masterpiece Self-publishing has finally arrived. And investing in your education on how to do it ultimately pays well in the long run.

Writer: Kieran Fallon is the owner of Logo Design company Éire Graphic Design. We are here to help your organization become more memorable through designing striking logos, eye-grabbing flyers, posters that pop, exciting animated emails and dynamic lightweight digital advertising campaigns – always backed by flexible and insightful support.

How to be an Author — an Invaluable Resource

Highly recommended by an author client, How to be an Author’s blurb begins with:

This is an indispensable book for writers. Between its pages is everything you need to know about the business of being a writer, from people who live and breathe books. Keep this book by your side as you pursue your publishing dream.

“‘From Nandi Chinna’s advice on how to tackle the dreaded writer’s block to Natasha Lester’s tips on how to gracefully accept rejection, this book provides both the expected and unexpected advice on questions many have pondered or never considered.’ ”

— Underground Writers

Available from Fremantle Press.

Glenice Whitting shortlisted in Indie Excellence Awards

As the name suggests, the US-based Indie Excellence Awards were instituted to highlight the best examples of independent publishing. Scrolling through their 14th annual shortlist does give one a sense of diverse, high quality work. We are happy to relate that Glenice Whitting’s What Time is it There"? was deservedly shortlisted. We assisted Glenice with the design of her book in 2019. Glenice’s excellent website can be perused here, and includes purchasing information and a thoughtful blog.

5 Benefits of Writing And Why You Should Make It a Daily Habit

A guest post kindly contributed by freelance writer Angela Johnston.

Are you writing daily?

Writing can be a hobby that is incredibly beneficial for your everyday life.

You write to keep track of your ambitions, to improve your vocabulary, to get your story branded and published, or to maintain a journal of your day’s events or the on-goings in the world around you.

Below are some of the notable benefits of writing daily and the impact it can have in your life

1) A Wake-Up Call For Your Brain

If you have ever gone to work only to find yourself seated at your desk for several hours waiting for your mind to get with the program. That translates to lost time that you can never recover and if you are unfortunate to be forced to tackle anything, then you will have a tepid approach to handling the task.

Try and hit the ground running when you get up in the morning and prepare to head to your workplace. You can do this by sitting down and penning down your day’s agenda or playing a crossword puzzle as you sip your morning tea, coffee, or smoothie.

For instance, you can come up with writing assignment routine for your mornings in which you have topics on slips of paper that you pull out from a jar and write about what is on the selected slip

Conversely, you can subscribe to mailing lists and have a subject delivered in your inbox every morning. According to the hypnotherapist at AOTH, the objective is to get your brain’s gears turning early in the morning so that you are mentally awake as you head to the office. They explain that “by getting your mind going early, in turn, you will be able to stay focused, and you will be ready to handle anything that comes to your desk.”

2) Stream Of Consciousness Riddance

It is not common to wake up with a story to write in mind.

But you can pen down your first thoughts of the day and then work from there. It can be something as simple as “another wonderful Friday morning – the weekend loading; I am looking forward to the BBQ party this Sunday. I do hope my Saturday will set the right tempo.”

According to the relationship counsellors at Thinking Families, this can be an opportunity to vent your worries or frustrations that may have accumulated overnight. They explain that “this allows you to start your day on a clean slate. Moreover, writing down your thoughts will be an excellent way of self-exploration as you reflect on things and take a day off writing to read what you scribbled the last few days. It will help you identify some of the issues which popped up severally in your writing that you need to address so that they stop weighing your down.”

For instance, if you find that you start your day with some self-criticism, then you should put in more effort to appreciate and be kinder to yourself. Look at ways of starting your day on a positive note by thinking of positive affirmation worth writing about as you proclaim self-love.

3). Dream Recall

Your dreams may be a source of inspiration; therefore, consider keeping a dream journal by your bedside. You can then scribble down what you encountered in our dreamworld if you are startled into the waking world.

BONUS TIP: Jot down anything even if it is to state that you did not have any dreams.

Try to scribble what you can recall for your slumber’s meanderings, even if all you can remember are colours. It may help to gradually improve your ability to remember the details of your dreams and then you can start notices themes or patterns in your dreams.

4). Expanding And Maintaining Your Vocabulary

What you have but fail to use often loses its usefulness.

This also applies to your vocabulary. In this age in which tweeting and texting are the things that fuel how we communicate; people are increasingly encountering mental blocks when it comes to their word banks. It is the result of trying to condense thoughts and conversations into few words and character.

It is a culture that will birth problems when individuals must sit in a meeting, and all that comes to mind is cooked up jargon.

They most likely will ensure up using terms and phrases that are inappropriate for such a sitting. The same will be evident when they must write an assignment, and they end up spending much of their time go through a thesaurus in search of appropriate words.

Therefore, waking up to writing something down every morning can be a great way of expanding word bank and maintaining your vocabulary. You will find yourself fitting some of your words into your day’s written exchanges and leave people impressed.

5). Evening Contemplation And Relaxation

The demand of the day will have many people stress, and their minds preoccupied with how they will complete their duties. Such things will weigh us down. The only time, we get to enjoy a break from these responsibilities is when we are sleeping.

So, why not keep a journal or notepad on your bedside on which you can pen down your day’s thoughts and encounters? It can be a therapeutic platform on which you can vent, distress, and relax as you let go of your woes by acknowledging and writing them down. It will also help you enjoy better sleep.

Alternatively, you can opt to meditate or do some simple exercises or yoga poses. According to the Kinesiologists at Shen Ko Vitality, “exercise is vital in de stressing your body, especially after a long day of mental stress from work.”

In conclusion, writing daily is both therapeutic and enables a clearer mind moving forward. You’ve simply got nothing to lose with this easily adoptable habit.

If you’ve ever considered taking up this habit by writing a book, don’t hesitate to contact Working Type to help you design your book cover before getting it published!

___________________________________________________________________________
Written by: Angela Johnston

Recent Book Cover Designs

We’ve been busy designing new covers for lovely author and publisher clients, with a very broad range of subjects. Here are a few of them.

Solving Writing Problems with Euan Mitchell

Euan Mitchell is a highly experienced editor and independent publishing expert who teaches at Swinburne University and also takes on private editing projects. His website provides further background information. He was interviewed on writing and editing for the Garret podcast. He specialises in Story design (all genres of novel and memoir), Young adult fiction (contemporary realism focus), Novel (commercial adult fiction), Memoir, Non-fiction (educational focus) and Short story (all genres). He has written a detailed guide for creating and marketing print and ebooks, available from Amazon. Here are some of his thoughts on authors and editing:

How does a writer know when their manuscript is ready to show publishers or readers?

This is a tough question to answer precisely, but new and emerging writers should not make the classic mistake of submitting unedited work to publishers. Too many new writers think a spellcheck is sufficient because a publisher will want to edit their manuscript anyway. But publishers want to spend as little money as possible on editing. Even though publishers know that a good edit can be the best way to add value to a book, editing takes time and editors typically work for an hourly rate. If you are self-publishing, then you don’t want your readers deriding your editorial efforts as substandard all over social media. There is a world of vocal armchair pedants out there!

Over the two decades I have been helping new and emerging writers to edit or rewrite their work to a publishable standard, I have found that a free sample edit of about 1,500 words from an extended manuscript is a good way to gauge how much editorial work is needed in total. Writers can then make an informed decision about whether or not to engage my services. Writers are usually pleased when I point out specifics that can be improved. This will typically include fixing some spelling, grammar and punctuation; however, often the sample edit will reveal other aspects to address, such as: lack of clarity, awkward transitions, ‘head-hopping’ points of view, weak dialogue, tautologies, clichés, and too much use of summary or stock character descriptions. The good news is that all these problems can be fixed. A careful edit or rewrite will ensure your ideas have the best chance of connecting successfully with publishers and readers. You can email Euan to discuss your writing project via euan@euanmitchell.com

Editing and Proofreading Services

Dianne Wadsworth runs a proofreading service for a variety of clients. We have referred authors onto her, and received very good feedback. Visit her recently revamped site to obtain a quote for your writing project. Needless to say, proofreading is a crucial stage in preparing your book for print.

My Writing Journey — Writing and Promotional Tips from Mala Naidoo

Presenting an informative and inspiring post from independent author Mala Naidoo:

Starting out as a writer was a romantic inclination, a desire to bring my writing dream to reality.

Little did I realise how important it is to create awareness that you exist, first as a person and then specifically as a writer. Later genre and style become recognisable to readers who are also feeling their way through the stories crafted by a new author.

Striking a balance between writing and marketing your books is paramount, if you want your books in the hands of readers through online or in store purchases.

Starting off with friends, colleagues and family is necessary. Your supportive core, in your writing career, will always be vital for feedback on all your books.

Some of the ways to create awareness and promote your books
is by extending your readership.

How do we do this, let us count the ways.

• Promote your books in your local community, book stores, libraries and book clubs. Offer and accept speaking engagements at book club meetings, school talks and at your local library.
• Talk about your book covers and what they mean, the visual impact - colours, placement of images etc. This has value in eliciting interest.

Cover Design: WorkingType (www.workingtype.com.au)

“Befriend, online or in person local independent bookstores in your town or city, and through friends in other cities to get your book online and in stores, then encourage readers to purchase your books through these channels.”

— Mala Naidoo

• Hosting a book launch when your first book is out, attracts curiosity, interest and gets attention. An afternoon tea with light refreshments is a winner to draw a wider crowd. Friends and colleagues are excited for you and offer to assist on the day. As introverts, as most writers are, (we lock ourselves in solitude for days on end) it’s not easy to solicit assistance and market your books - but it’s an essential requirement. The after effects of a book launch are book leads - requests for more books and where they might be available.
• Befriend, online or in person local independent bookstores in your town or city, and through friends in other cities to get your book online and in stores, then encourage readers to purchase your books through these channels. This helps to get your print book into stores, maybe not on the same shelf as Stephen King or Lianne Moriarty, but it gets a space, a tangible space.
• Create a website to reach your readers through blog posts, and newsletters, invite readers in to take up your free offers, create fun giveaways for your subscribers. A simple fact file on a character your readers love is all you need to spur on their interest to read more of your books. It’s an ongoing, strategic process.
• Join online author associations to promote your books or at the very least to create awareness that you exist as a writer.
• Facebook ads are a great way to create awareness and invite the purchase of your book or sign ups to your newsletter. A permanent Facebook Ad for sign ups is necessary when you begin promoting your books, website, and blog.
• When you have a new book out, launch it through Facebook and AMS ads, send out friendly newsletter or messenger communication to your contacts telling them about your new book.
• Don’t overkill the advertising, do it tastefully to keep readers coming back for more.
• Online interactions with influencers of the craft, attending book fairs, writers’ festivals, listening to podcasts and attending webinars are great ways to connect with like-minded creatives, to extend the promotion of your books. Be selective in your choices because it’s easy to drown in a sea of algorithmic advice!

“Facebook ads are a great way to create awareness and invite the purchase of your book or sign ups to your newsletter. ”

— Mala Naidoo

 And

• Create awareness of all your books on Facebook (pin to top), Twitter,(pinned tweet) Instagram (create a cover story, add updated information related to your writing journey). Pinterest (pins that showcase your books with links) Google+, your website and blogposts.

At first I was awkward talking about my books. Fear held me back. Now I have a little story to tell:  One day a lovely hairdresser probed into my silent, private world, I managed to slip in, amidst the heat and whirring of hairdryers, a quick biographical sketch, whispering that I was a writer too. Curiosity grew in the hairdressing salon from that whispered revelation as ladies, and the odd gentleman wanted to know more about my books. Having your latest book at the ready is a loaded gun for promotion, as is having an author business card, especially at the places like the hairdresser!

Writing is a process, just as marketing and creating awareness of your latest publication is.  Both need equal attention. It’s a balance I continue to work on.

Happy reading, happy writing, happy creating!

www.malanaidoo.com

Authors and their Digital Presence Explained

A thoughtful and in-depth examination of how authors are not getting the best results from their digital presence. The writer explains why the interests of authors and publishers do not always align, and how a new generation of author-centric services are being created. 

“It is ironic that the author brand is foundational — the success of all title marketing depends on it and all publishers depend on title marketing — but how the author brands are developed gets very little professional attention.”

— http://www.idealog.com/blog/authors-need-help-digital-presence-still-not-getting/

Banner Year for Author

Author M.G. Ryan uses the large banner above for promotional events. She says "it looks great and draws a lot of attention. When I have the second banner made up, they will look awesome next to each other." Her latest book "To Dawn" (sequel to "From Dusk") will be released with the assistance of In-House Publishing.

The Rise and Rise of Indie Authors

The Author Earnings website has worked hard at 'scraping' data from Amazon's various sites to provide unprecedented detail on sales data. As Amazon now represents close to a majority of print titles sold, knowing what is being sold and by whom is very interesting indeed. The data shows that independent authors represent a large and rapidly growing fraction of book sales on Amazon. There is also ample evidence that having a book listed on the Amazon bestseller lists provides a substantial boost to non-listed titles from the same author. Overall, Author Earnings claim that they identified over 9,000 authors earning more than USD $10,000 per year, and half of that number were earning over USD $20,000 per year. Read the whole report, which goes into much greater detail.

Useful Resources for Australian Authors

The Australian Society of Authors maintains a very useful collection of documents for Australian authors. Some of them are free, others free for their members. Titles include: The Author as Producer, the Author as Brand, Copying payments to authors, Getting Published, Getting Started for Book Illustrators, Ghostwriting Agreement & Contact List, Guidelines to Permissions, Introduction to Digital Self-Publishing, Literary Agent and Author Agreement, Literary Competition Guidelines, Paying for publication and so on. See also the vast collection of resources at the Arts Law Centre's website.