Self-Publishing 101 Episode #8 Blurbs

Welcome to Self-Publishing 101

Today we will be discussing the importance of a strong blurb for your book.

Don’t forget to join us next week with K.B. Miller while we discuss NOT responding to reviews.

As for building a strong blurb, blurbs are the one of the most important challenges when it comes to publishing your book. It is the cover that first draws people to your book, but then next thing they do is read the blurb. These two things are what will lead a reader to buy your book.

In this episode, we will talk about this, but also some tips and tricks on how to build a strong blurb.

Below there are links to a few good blog posts on how to write a blurb. I encourage you to check them out. Like I always say, research is the key to all success in self-publishing.

Recommended Blog Posts on Building a Blurb.

How to Write a Blurb (Back Cover Copy) by Marylynn Byerly

How To Write Back Blurb For Your Book by The Creative Pen

5 Tips for Writing a Compelling Book Blurb by Amy Wilkins

Remember that building an excellent blurb will probably take more than one try, so be patient and don’t rush into calling it a final version.

Jennifer Malone Wright

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K.B. Miller

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As always, until next time...

For the Corn Family...

I'm still in tears as I type this, so please bear with me. A fellow author, Nichole Chase sent out a call a couple of days ago. I try to help other authors out as much as time allows, and I wasn't busy at the moment so I answered. I thought, okay it's probably a cover reveal or something along those lines... I was wrong. 
Last night, she sent some of us a message letting us know what was going on and believe me, it's heartbreaking. Here is what happened...

On the night of February 10^th, 2013, Matthew Corn passed away in a tragic accident. It’s impossible to sum up the life and vibrant personality of one person in a few short sentences. To say Matt will be missed is an understatement of gross proportions. He was a loving husband and devoted father, quick to give his family everything they needed and more. Matt moved from Pittsburgh to Savannah with his wife, Daniele, to work at Gulfstream. Here they had three children: Ben, 5, Andrew, 2, and Lily, 1. He was a hard worker; always giving one hundred and ten percent to his job, but never missed the chance to joke. He was known for being obsessively organized and neat. If you wanted to see him panic, all you had to do was move his tools out of order or get his jeep dirty. Matt was an avid Pittsburg Steelers fan and Pittsburg Penguins fan, more than willing to go nose to nose for his favorite teams. He loved the outdoors and off-road ramp competitions. He spent time fishing and hunting with his children, eager to instill his love of nature. His friends knew him as a person that would drop everything if you needed help.

Now, it’s our turn to help. With the generous donations of these wonderful authors, we hope to raise money for the Corn Family to help with medical and living expenses. His loss has left a hole in the hearts of his family and friends that will never be filled, but it is our sincere wish that this auction will ease some of the burdens they face. 

EL James

Tracey Garvis-Graves

Tina Reber

Colleen Hoover

Liz Reinhardt

Samantha Young

Michelle Leighton

Georgia Cates

KA Tucker

Sarah Ross

Tiffany King

Jessica Park

Angie Stanton

Steph Campbell

Elizabeth Hunter

Heather Hildenbrand

Addison Moore

Fisher Amelie

Shelly Crane

Stephanie Nelson

Coutney Cole

Lila Felix

Teresa Mummert

Kendall Grey

Shannon Delany

Rebecca Donovan

Michele Scott

Tammara Webber

Jamie McGuire

Abbi Glines

Elizabeth Reyes

Nichole Chase

Jilliam Dodd

Dina Silver

The auction will run online from February 22 until March 15.

ALL PROCEEDS GO TO THE CORN FAMILY

If you would like to browse the selections ahead of time, check out the website:
www.forthecornfamily.us

If you would like to donate without going through the auction

process, click here for the paypal button for the Corn Family Fund.

Self-Publishing 101 Episode #7 Cover Art

Hello, and welcome to this weeks' episode of Self-Publishing 101!

This week we're talking about cover art. It's one of those extremely important and exciting steps in publishing your book. So, let's not delay, here we go...

Remember, guys... we are visual creatures. We buy with our eyes first and foremost! Here are a few cover artists that I have used or friends have and their work is quality.

Regina Wamba of Mae I Design and Photography

Para Graphic

Steph's Cover Design

Ravven's Glass

Indie Book Covers

Again... if you are a cover artist and would like me to list your company, please shoot me an email and I will check you out and add your company's name.

Jennifer Malone Wright

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K.B. Miller

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As always, until next time...

K.B. Miller, XOXOXO

My Review of Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter

Blurb

Had anyone told Alice Bell that her entire life would change course between one heartbeat and the next, she would have laughed. From blissful to tragic, innocent to ruined? Please. But that’s all it took. One heartbeat. A blink, a breath, a second, and everything she knew and loved was gone.

Her father was right. The monsters are real….

To avenge her family, Ali must learn to fight the undead. To survive, she must learn to trust the baddest of the bad boys, Cole Holland. But Cole has secrets of his own, and if Ali isn’t careful, those secrets might just prove to be more dangerous than the zombies….


I wish I could go back and do a thousand things differently.
I'd tell my sister no.
I'd never beg my mother to talk to my dad.
I'd zip my lips and swallow those hateful words.
Or, barring all of that, I'd hug my sister, my mom and my dad one last time.
I'd tell them I love them.
I wish... Yeah, I wish.

My Review

5 cups of Expresso

Where do I begin with this review? Hmm... okay, how about Gena Showalter, you have a new fan for life! Being an author myself, I look at every aspect of a book; the style of writing, character development, storyline, plow flow, and most of all timing. Timing is key. This book was superbly written. The characters jump off the page and right into your imagination. They grow, mature right in front of your eyes. The style of writing is easy, yet complex. This is a book that I have avidly recommended to my own fans, and family. Thank you Gena for a wonderfully engaging story with lovable characters and thank you Harlequin Teen for publishing a fabulous book by an amazing author! Well done. 

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As always, until next time...

~K.B. Miller, XOXOXO

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valetine's Day

I wanted the opportunity to give something to each of you, however if I bought each and everyone of you chocolates... that could get a bit pricey and let's face it, by the time they reached you... they would probably be gross. Yuck! So, instead I've decided to give you each an actual little piece of myself, a gift that can be open and re-opened... my book, Harvest Moon

 At midnight PST, Grab your FREE ebook on Amazon, by clicking on the picture or the highlighted word above!

I'm only doing this for Valentine's Day, because I love each and every one of you. So, please download, and share <3 If you feel the 'Compulsion' (hint hint) leave a review, but it's totally not necessary <3

And, if you guys were thinking, whoa K.B., that's really awesome! Well... I have two more surprises for you!! One of my really close friends also happens to be an author, a VERY bestselling author, of The Forbidden Bond Series and she is giving you the first book her series, Unbound also!!! Click Here to go the amazon page <3

As a VERY, VERY special treat... check out this week's episode of my friend, Stacey Rourke's Writer's Reality!! It's an AWESOME poetic re-telling of the classic, Salt-N-Pepa's Shoop! Thank you again, Stac for including me <3 ~K.B.

The Authors

Stacey Rourke

Melissa Ringsted

Alicia Michaels 

Lisa Morgan

K.B. Miller

Christy Sloat

Elizabeth Kirke

L.P. Dover

Cat Miller

Madison Daniels

Make sure you check out all of the links above!!

As always, until next time...

Self-Publishing 101 #6 Editing

Welcome to Self-Publishing 101 This week we are discussing the topic of editing. Mainly, how to choose an editor, why you need to edit your work and the different types of editing. 

                    

Be sure to join us next week at K.B. Miller’s blog for a class on graphics.For more

Jennifer's Editor is Accentuate Author Services

A great article I found explaining the differences in copy, line and developmental editing;

http://victoriamixon.com/editing-terminology/

Jennifer's Guidebook Beyond The Writing: A Guide to Self-Publishing and Marketing

Jennifer Malone Wright

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K.B. Miller

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As always, until next time...

Self-Publishing 101 Episode #5

Welcome to this week's episode of Self-Publishing 101. We're going to be discussing formatting for Print. I'm going to use Createspace as our example, however I am also including links for other print distributors. And, here we go...

Screen shots

#1

This is the screen on Createspace that you will see when you are starting a new title.

#2

This is honestly super simple. Just insert the unique responses that will correspond to your books.

#3

The formatted template is available for download from this page. Please, remember to choose the correct size that you want your book BEFORE you download the template.

#4

Here is where you will upload your completed book document.

#5

Make sure you read, and re-read what you enter for mispellings, missing words, etc.

#6

Here is where you will start uploading your cover or creating one online.

#7

You need to fill each of these in while your files are in review.

#8

This is what the formatted template looks like in your Microsoft Word. See what I mean about easy? You just replace what they have with your books contents.

#9

Remember, what I talked about with the chapters and from chapter 10 on you'll need to page break the chapters.

Print on demand distributors

Createspace

LuLu

Lightning Source

Jennifer Malone Wright

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K.B. Miller

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Make sure that you join us next week on Jennifer Malone Wright's blog for a lesson in editing. This is one episode that you won't want to miss!

As always, until next time...

Mel's Review of My Merlin Awakening by Priya Ardis

Blurb

If you haven't broken the rules, have you really lived?

Excalibur has been pulled from the stone, but what does it mean? Arriane (aka Ryan) DuLac's got bigger problems—as student president, she's got to put on the Prom. While the Wizard Council debates their next move, she leaves the craziness behind and heads home. But she can’t hide forever. Sooner than she’d like Merlin (aka Matt) has her chasing mermaids on the trail of the Fisher King in Greece. The wounded King, defeated by Merlin’s brother, Vane, in the past holds the key to save the future.

On the journey, Ryan begins to realize the friends she thought she knew, she may not know at all. At a time of shifting alliances, she must decide whose side she’s on—the brother who struggles to do right or the brother who dares to break the rules? And Ryan must decide who she is—a regular or a champion?

One wrong decision and her family falls apart. One wrong decision and the world falls apart. No pressure.

Mel's Review

4 Penguins

Awakening was a great progression to an already fun and interesting story. I absolutely love Merlin and his bad boy brother Vane, and poor Ryan literally has the fate of the world on her shoulders. (Like being 17 and in love with two brothers isn't hard enough.) We get to meet even more fantastic mythological creatures and go on an even crazier adventure. The End is coming and I can't wait to see if Ryan can save the world, her boyfriend, and her heart or if it's all going to fall apart. In my opinion definitely recommended.

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Superbowl with The Twitchy Witch

All of you know that I'm an author. 

Some of you even know that I'm a Baltimore native.

Love the hats :)

but how many of you know that I am a die-hard Ravens fan? 

Football, you, K.B. really? Yep! Me. 

I've been a huge football fan all my life. I used to watch the BALTIMORE Colts, BEFORE they got up in the middle of the night and loaded those Mayflower Moving trucks out in Indy. When Baltimore finally obtained a new team... I about blew a gasket from excitement! And this year, my boys are back in the big game... The Superbowl! And, this is not just any Superbowl the head coaches from both teams are brothers... The Harbaughs.

So, you could say this is going to be the "Har-bowl"... except for the fact that my absolute favorite player of all time is retiring and so therefore I dub this game, The Ray Lewis Show!

#52, you have given me many hours of inspiration over your career! 

Thank you, Ray.

As I sit down to watch the infamous 60 minutes to glory, many faces will roll through my mind, but none more so than my mom. She was also a die-hard Ravens fan. She passed away in 2001 from Breast Cancer. In my head, I know it's not really the case, but in my head... they are playing for her.

Let's get'em purple!

I plan on posting (fingers crossed) later tonight that The Baltimore Ravens are SUPERBOWL CHAMPIONS!!

As always, until next time...

From the desk of the Twitchy Witch, K.B. Miller

First off, please know that it was so super hard keeping this a secret from you guys! Between Facebook, Twitter, my Website, and here on the blog I post daily, letting you all know what's going on with me. ;) 

A few months ago, several fans approached me with a question. Actually, as I would discover later... a GREAT question!

"Will your catch phrase, 'Twitchy Witchy Kisses' have it's own design?"

I toyed with the idea for a while. Should I do this? If I did, wouldn't it make me look like a diva, or an author with a rather large opinion of themselves or something? I allowed more time to pass, but all the while I was looking into trademarking 'my' phrase. 

One night, my hubby came to me and asked me to open my email. When I did, I discovered that he'd already taken it upon himself to start the process. That settled the matter.

So, now I needed to find the right artist to design the logo... it wasn't a hard decision. There was only one person that I would trust with this, Regina Wamba of Mae I Design and Photography! She was already my absolute favorite artist in the world. So,I contacted her immediately and she was off. It didn't take long AT ALL! See for yourselves... she NAILED the Twitchy Witchy Kisses!

Official Logo in black

Official Logo in White

And, because I so super excited... I have a giveaway for you!!!

A Twitchy Witchy Kisses Mug- We all know me and coffee addiction :)

You'll totally be able to rock the TWK t-shirt

I'll signing books in style, and now so can you with the TWK pen!

And... because The Twilight Saga is coming to an end on March 2, 2013 with the release of Breaking Dawn Part 2 DVD... I'm throwing in one of those too!!

Make sure you enter the giveaway below! The Twitchy Witch is just itching to give something away!!

Don't forget to check out my books, The Moon Coven Series on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and anywhere that fine eBooks are sold!

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