publishing advice

The Quick & Dirty Guide to Exporting Your Books from Pronoun

Here’s my quick-and-dirty guide to the essential information you should download from Pronoun before the site ends distribution on January 15. (Previously, MacMillan had promised to keep account information accessible through February 15, but I can no longer find this promise on its site. So stop whatever you’re doing and DOWNLOAD YOUR STUFF NOW.) … Read more

What to Look for in a Small Publisher, Part 2: Contract Terms

Infographic with the following text: What to Look for in a Small Publisher Contract Terms Advice from M Pepper Langlinais more info: dalecameronlowry.com/contract-terms/ For how long does the publisher plan to hold the rights? There should always be an end date with the opportunity for the publisher to renew. Is there something in the contract for rights reversion? Is there a way to get your rights back if the publisher closes or you want to try a new publisher? Will your book appear in print? Does the publisher guarantee your title will have a print version? If not, how important is that to you? Does the publisher have distribution and marketing? Are they going to actively market your book? Will they distribute your book to stores and libraries? How and when do you get paid? Do you get paid monthly, quarterly, or yearly? Are royalties based on cover price ("gross"), or what the publisher gets after expenses ("net")? Do they own your next book(s)? If things don’t go well with your first book, you don’t want to owe the publisher all your manuscripts.

It’s important not to sign any offer that a publisher sends you. M Pepper Langlinais was here on Tuesday talking about how to evaluate a small publisher based on its books, online presence, and marketing efforts. Now she’s back to talk about the legal stuff: contract terms.
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Pen to Pen: Audiobook Creation for Indie Authors with Isobel Starling

black man speaking into microphone

This week in Pen to Pen, romance author Isobel Starling stops by to advise independent authors on publishing and marketing audiobooks using ACX (Audiobook Creation Exchange), a platform developed by Amazon and Audible.com. She’s got a lot of information, so she’ll have two columns this week. Today’s, “Using ACX: Audiobook Creation for Indie Authors” is on creating your audiobook and paying for a narrator. On Thursday, she’ll be back with some great promotional tips in “Marketing Your Audiobook.” … Read more