You may remember Linda from the Book Review I did awhile back (check my Indie Author Page). Well, guess what? Linda’s at it again and she’s battling it out on Cover Wars. I love seeing my authors succeed! Go ahead and cast your vote!
Tag: authors
The Trouble with Series – Guest Post…
Excellent post. Post Quote: “One more tip: write at least two books in your series before you publish the first. Really, it’s worth it.”
Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog

One of the best things to do as an indie author is to write a series. People like reading them, and it makes your author page look much better when you have more than one title to your name.
For most of us, writing our first book is a Big Thing. Finishing it, whether after six months or six years, does not immediately change your mindset into ‘published author’. It’s often only much later that you read the advice about series and start to think of the sequel.
Even the most successful authors fall foul of this. I was at a Crime Writing event last year (Noirwich), where the well-loved British writer Elly Griffiths confessed that she had never expected her first book, The Crossing Places, to lead to the long run that is the Ruth Galloway series. If she had, she wouldn’t have packed so much into…
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The Writer’s Journey – Guest Author, Yecheilyah Ysrayl
Y’all know my schedule, I am off on Saturdays. I’d just like to share my Guest Post and to give a special thank you to Kim for hosting me. Here, I give you three of the biggest lessons I’ve learned so far in my Self-Publishing journey.*Comments disabled here. Please hit me on the other side.*
Welcome author, Yecheilyah Ysrayl to THE WRITER’S JOURNEY segment of Kim’s Author Support Blog. Take it away, Yecheilyah. This is her journey.
3 Self-Publishing Lessons I’ve Learned this Year
As we come to the end of another year, this one has been one of self-reflection for me both on a personal as well as a professional level. There’s been ups, downs, doubts, excitement, frustration, and everything in-between.
I’ve come out of my shell a lot this year and have learned to embrace my own vulnerabilities without fear of judgment. I used to be timid and shy about what I did or thought for fear that people wouldn’t understand me. This has caused me to, consequently, shy away from opportunities that could have been of help to me as a writer.
This year I’ve learned to be unapologetically me and to not let anyone bait me out of my character. I think…
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Blog Changes

As we come to the close of 2016, there will be some changes made to this blog.
The major change is that I will be transitioning from http://www.thepbsblog.wordpress.com to www.thepbsblog.com. I want to give everyone an opportunity to prepare for the transition (please save the new web domain) so I will not be making any moves probably until the end of this month or the beginning of next month. (Special thanks to the commentary that led me to edit this part of the post. I just want to clarify that I am not moving the site. I am simply purchasing the domain for The PBS Blog so its .com instead of .wordpress.com. That is the only change to this site. I am not moving. I would also add that I am not doing anything yet so if there’s anyone with insight into switching over I’d love to hear your thoughts before I make the move. What are your thoughts? Is social media sharing still available? Any technicalities I should know about? Did you switch? Are you liking it so far? Thanks!)
I didn’t want to acquire a domain in the beginning because I already have an author website I’m paying for and I did not always know that I would continue with this blog. There was a time where I did consider hanging it up or just doing it temporarily. As I’ve continued however and have started to put some real hours into nourishing this community and providing value, I have decided to stay for a while longer and for that will finally make that transition to a more professional look, starting with a domain name. (I will probably add a donation widget as well to the slide-side bar once the domain goes up for those who enjoy this blog and would like to see it continue to run).
Other changes are minor, such as updating all the pages and sticking to a more permanent theme. Once I settle on a layout that I feel is right for this blog (I do like this one, but who knows), I’ll be sticking with it.
I am also looking to add more author services to accompany the Book Reviews. I have tried once before to open for Guest Blogging but that did not work out. Instead, I am working on something I can add as a permanent feature for authors. I have not decided what that is yet (Author Interviews, Q&A, Author Promo or what) but I will let you know when I’ve decided. I will say I am leaning toward Author Promo since I already promote books through my email list and book reviews. I will consider adding structure to it as something for 2017. What do you think?
In the meantime, thank you all for your continued support of The PBS Blog! If there is anything you’d like to see more of I would appreciate your feedback. Please do not hesitate to let me know what it is you want. It is truly my pleasure to serve you. I mean that sincerely.
GoReadMe! Campaign – Susan M. Toy’s books
What a most creative idea. A GoReadMe Campaign. I love that it promotes reading and support for authors simultaneously. Be sure to pledge to read at least one of Susan’s books. You have until Jan. 8th.
Books: Publishing, Reading, Writing
In August this year, I had a great idea … and the very kind Seumas Gallacher allowed me space on his blog to not only write about the GoReadMe! Campaign, but also offered to be the first to have his books promoted using it.
He’s a brave man! While we may not have reached the target of readers we wished to attract within the time period we allowed, there were a fair number of new readers who discovered Gallacher’s books through this promotion, so I was pleased with the response.
I’m back now to do the same for my own writing, since I recently published a new novel in the Bequia Perspectives series. Here’s the background to the idea:
First, let’s go back a little way in time to a blog post I published in March of this year on the perennial subject that’s of interest to all authors…
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Stupid Writing Rules: 12 Dumb Things New Writers Tell Each Other
I really enjoyed reading this. Excellent tips on writer advice. There’s so much of it out there but is it accurate?
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8 Ways to Know If You’re Ready to Publish (Part One)
Excellent advice. Post quote: ” I think of self-publishing like reaching the legal drinking age. Just because you can legally drink doesn’t mean all the other drinking rules are off the table – a fact most folks learn before they reach the legal drinking age. So any advice on knowing when your book is ready has its limits. What I offer is not any set rules because there aren’t any. Instead, I’m going to provide a little advice, so you don’t show up at your new job Monday morning stupid drunk.”
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Throughout the 20th Century, book publishing was a gated industry. With few exceptions, if an author wished to publish a novel he or she needed to endure the rite of passage. Agencies and ultimately publishers decided if a book had merit and sale-ability. If the content and writing were good enough, the publisher ensured the book appeared to the public in its “best” form. That is, beautiful cover, full editing, compelling book blurb and supported by some marketing. Published books still might not meet with readers’ love, but technically they met certain standards of readability if not enjoyability.
Self-publishing provided a method to circumvent these gatekeepers for both good and bad. Still, with few exceptions, most authors want to ensure their published works are well-received. Is my book good enough? Have I made any errors? Should I put it out there? These are the questions that haunt self-published authors…or should…
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