Many authors choose a publishing name for publishing their book. A publishing name separates you-the-author from you-the-publisher. Your publishing name can be your own name, a business name, or a corporation. For example, if I publish a book, I might choose “Raven Books” or “Raven Press Ltd.” as my publishing name. Of course, I would first need to make sure the name was not already in use, and then register it through the appropriate government authority. Continue reading
Why hire a freelance editor?
(Reprinted with permission from Ann Harmer, freelance editor.)
You’ve spent months, perhaps years, writing your masterpiece, polishing and perfecting it, and now you’re ready to release it to the world. You even ran it through your spell-checker and double-checked your commas, the same as editors do, right? Well, not exactly. Continue reading
Getting testimonials and endorsements
Whether you are selling a book or a product, testimonials and endorsements are a necessary and vital part of your marketing plan. Whether you need one endorsement to accent a particular feature of your book or product, or whether you need several endorsements to create credibility—you do NEED them. Continue reading
Bar codes for the book industry
(Reprinted with permission from Bar Code Graphics)
A necessary requirement for selling your publications through booksellers, wholesalers, and distributors, is the assignment of unique ISBN numbers for each title. Once a publisher receives their ISBN numbers, they should assign an individual number to each of their publications. In order for booksellers to automatically capture an ISBN, it must be converted into a scannable bar code. The Bookland EAN symbol is the bar code of choice in the book industry, because it allows for encodation of ISBNs. Continue reading
To fulfill or not to fulfill?
Written with help from Renee and Jack Brodie, publishers.
Publishing your book is exciting; there’s no doubt about that. And it’s hard to beat seeing your printed book for the first time. But shortly thereafter you’ll receive 1,000 books or more…. How will you handle your own fulfillment? Continue reading
Why self-publish?
Authors choose to self-publish for many different reasons. Some have tried to have their book published through a traditional publishing house; others have not. But self-publishing authors all have one goal in common: to get their book out into the world. Continue reading
Interview on book design by Epic Universe
Epic Universe author Lee Stephen interviews Fiona Raven about the book design process following the publication of his first two sci-fi novels in the Epic series, Dawn of Destiny and Outlaw Trigger. Continue reading
Why you need book publicity
You can have a book that is new, original, innovative, and perfectly solves the problems of your ideal customers, but are your ideal customers going to buy your book if they have never heard of you or what you can do for them? Continue reading
Book printing: offset or digital?
Authors often ask me what the differences are between offset and digital printing, and whether there is an advantage to using one over the other. Here is a quick explanation. Continue reading