Tag: indie authors

Self-Publishing and Formatting Quick Tips

Self-Publishing and Formatting Tips

jorobinson176's avatarLit World Interviews

One of the biggest challenges to Indies is getting a professionally published looking book when up against the costs of editing, proofreading, formatting and cover designs. If you can afford these services then foregoing them is not a good idea, but when you really can’t afford them they can mean the death of some really great literature. There are a couple of things that can help though.

Editing or Proofreading Swopsies

Rather than simply asking for Beta readers, offer to swop proofreading services. Writers have a different kind of eyeball when reading. I’ve just finished a Joanna Trollope book, professionally published by one of the big houses, professionally edited and put together, but so far I’ve found a couple of typos and instances of poorly strung together sentences. As far as the cover design is concerned, if it wasn’t for the fact that I was specifically looking for and wanting…

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Dear Authors, This Summer, Introduce Yourself!

 

I love the warm weather! The flowers are blooming and everything is just abounding with life. What a perfect occasion to introduce something new.

Last week I announced the start of a new series on The PBS Blog and boy have you all responded!

So, this post is to remind you that if you want in this summer you may want to go ahead and submit your questions. Spots are filling up fast! I’ll be introducing our first author tomorrow, Monday, April 3, 2017 and then every Monday afterwards we’ll meet a new author (just as long as the spots stay filled). I am booked up through April and there is only ONE spot left for May so again, if you want to be featured this summer, don’t wait.

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ON HOW TO GET STARTED!

Yecheilyah’s Book Reviews – When We Go Missing by Kristen Twardowski

Title: When We Go Missing

Author: Kristen Twardowski

Publisher: Kristen Twardowski; 1 edition (December 16, 2016)

Publication Date: December 16, 2016

Language: English

ASIN: B01NBIZRC8

When Alex fell for Nathan Radcliffe, I knew something wasn’t right. I imagine he saw her from a distance, watching her confused and lost, and knew she was easy prey. Whatever the reason, I knew something was slightly off-kilter because she trusted him too quickly.

When We Go Missing is the debut novel of Kristen Twardowski and tells the story of one woman’s struggle to convince a psychiatric hospital that she is not crazy and that her husband is in fact, a killer. We first meet Alex on a boat. She has been kidnapped and is being taken to an undisclosed location. It is soon that Alex realizes she’s been taken to a psychiatric hospital and that the story concerning her mental well-being is in question. She is being told that her husband is a good guy who visits her every week. Her last name is even different from what she remembers.

Alex screams at night like the other patients and experiences delusions and paranoia. This leads her to question her own sanity, and although I knew more than Alex did, from a reader’s perspective, there were moments where I wondered if I knew what I thought I knew! I found myself questioning Alex’s state of mind. Was she kidnapped? Is her husband really a killer? Or did she make this all up? What happened to Alex Gardinier?

I love books like these! They make me think.

Although Alex is the focus of the story, it is also the story of a number of women who go missing every day rather than just one. This book informs the reader of a few potential and actual consequences of being missing. I couldn’t help but put myself in the women’s position and think about how important it is for women to defend themselves, use weapons, be aware of our surroundings, and get to know the men we are with.

I loved the “six degrees of separation” type feel that Kristen gave to the women involved as well and how this would all tie into the truth concerning Alex’s fate.

Ratings:

Plot Movement / Strength: 4/5

Entertainment Factor: 4/5

Characterization: 4/5

Authenticity / Believable: 5/5

Thought Provoking: 5/5

Overall Rating: 4 / 5

When We Go Missing is available now on Amazon

Be sure to follow this author online!

About.

Kristen Twardowski stumbled her way through working with wolves and libraries and found her professional home doing marketing and data analysis in the publishing industry. Though there will always be a place carved in her heart for numbers and graphs, the rest of her love is given to the craft of writing.

Blog: https://kristentwardowski.wordpress.com/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16190135.Kristen_Twardowski

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KristenTwardowskiAuthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KristenTwardow

Are you attending the #IndieAuthorFringe event? 18th March #writers #authors

YO! AUTHORS! Check it out. This is what I mean by attending FREE online webinars and conferences to aid in your education when you cannot afford to pay for a live one. This is a FREE, online global conference for authors, run fringe to the major book fairs: London, BEA & Frankfurt Bookfairs, broadcasting 24 sessions of author education over 24 continuous hours, so that authors around the world attend some live sessions, no matter where they’re located.

Yecheilyah’s Book Reviews – Define Your Voice: Narrowing Down Your Target Market by Altovise Pelzer

Title: Define Your Voice: Narrowing Down Your Target Market

Author: Altovise Pelzer

Print Length: 43 pages

Publication Date: July 14, 2016

Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC

Language: English

ASIN: B01IGD5WXW

Define Your Voice is a book that reads like a workbook designed to help authors discover their unique voices. By voice, the author means your unique story. The experiences that set you apart as an individual make your work reverberate unlike anyone else’s. The author shares some of her personal experiences and takes us through prompts designed to help the reader find his or her voice. I cannot say the information presented was new for me, but it is a great read to help someone who needs a step-by-step guide on discovering and embracing their authentic selves.

Rating this book was a challenge for me. I was excited to read this, considering the author’s many accomplishments, and there are parts I really appreciated. However, the book also needs more editorial and formatting attention. However, the inspiring messages of hope and motivation were on point. The book was also an easy and short read which is always a plus. My decided rating is therefore based on these strong points. Some of my favorite quotes from the book:

“Motivational quotes are birthed out of the victories, trials and failures in a person’s life. They become popular because they are relevant and transparent.”- Altovise Pelzer

And my most favorite:

“Are you bitter or better? There is a huge difference and it will show up in how you talk about your pivotal moment. Are you speaking from a heart of forgiveness or hatred? Don’t think you have to wear a mask or pretend to be anyone other than you. I need you to be authentic. For me, being authentic means that you are able to share the pain and the purpose in your pivotal moment. People need both! There will be those who follow you even if you lean more to one side than the other. It’s better to stay grounded by sharing the good, the bad and the ugly then to have people believing that there is only one side to a pivotal moment.” – Altovise

Strong Introduction: 3/5
Entertainment Factor: 3/5
Authenticity: 4/5
Thought Provoking: 4/5
Overall Rating: 3 / 5 stars

Define Your Voice: Narrowing Down Your Target Market is available now on Amazon

Be Sure to Follow this Author Online! Here’s more information about Altovise:

Bio. Altovise Pelzer is the host of “Our Voice Matters” on WoW TV and the #MorningPRESS series on Periscope and Facebook and has entered the world of publishing in 2016. Her most recently released book is the second of an eight-part series, Getting Through Difficult Situations: “The Ripple Effect”. This book is a follow-up to her first book “It’s Okay to Cry”. Altovise has learned, first hand, what it means to live in difficult situations. Because of her life experiences, she motivates women and youth to find their unique voice.

You can find Altovise at the following social networks:

www.facebook.com/findyourvoicenow
www.lnkedin.com/in/findyourvoicenow
http://www.instagram.com/findyourvoicenow
http://www.altovisepelzer.com/
Author Altovise P. (@TheeVoiceCoach) | Twitter
 Stay tuned for my next awesome author!