10 Ted Talks to Inspire You to Start Your Novel
10 great TED talks to inspire you to start writing!
Writing Tips, Marketing Advice and Book News: What’s Happening This Week?
By Joni Di Placido It’s a new year and we’re bringing this feature back: a place to share the most interesting book news and author tips…
KWL Ep 133 – Let’s Talk Podcasting with Amanda Cupido
In this week’s episode, Cristina sits down with author and podcast producer Amanda Cupido to talk about her book Let’s Talk Podcasting: The Essential Guide to Doing it Right.
In Praise of Public Speaking
How I went from petrified to panelist By Judy Penz Sheluk My earliest memory of public speaking goes back to the eighth grade, when I stood…
KWL Ep 131 – Ricci Wolman
KWL EP 131 – Ricci Wolman In this episode, Chrissy chats to Ricci Wolman the founder and CEO of Written Word Media. Ricci talks about why…
The Best of the KWL Blog 2018
Happy New Year from us all at Kobo Writing Life! As we leave 2018 behind, let’s take a moment to celebrate and revisit some of the…
Setting Up a Multi-Author Bookstore Event
When my debut mystery novel, The Hanged Man’s Noose, was published in 2015, one of the first things I did was set up a bookstore event at my local Chapters. Visions of eager customers lining up outside the door danced through my head.
The reality was considerably different.
10 Steps to a Bestselling Novel
By Sierra Delarosa Are you aiming for your next book to become a bestseller? Why do some books become more popular than others? While there’s no surefire…
Building Your Street Team
Folsom is one of the many indie authors who has the benefit of a secret weapon—a street team of ardent fans who are devoted to her and, perhaps more importantly, to her ongoing success as a writer.
How To Build An Author Platform And Why You Need One
By Victoria M. Patton First, what is an author platform? In essence, it’s a way for you to reach your potential readers, fans, followers, and ultimately…
Academics Should Consider Self-Publishing—Here’s Why
What I can say is this: Whether through Kobo, or through a different platform, I am absolutely convinced that more professors will soon be self-publishing.
KWL Podcast – Ep 110 – Sean Platt and Johnny B. Truant
KWL EP 110 – Sean Platt and Johnny B. Truant Join Chrissy and Stephanie as they sit down with Sean Platt and Johnny B. Truant, the…
5 Ways Travel Writers Earn Money From Their Craft
The most successful travel writers today are not writing for magazines on the newsstand or books on a store shelf.
Kobo Writing Life Podcast – Episode 106 – Maxwell Alexander Drake
In this episode, Chrissy Munroe interviews award-winning author and creative writing instructor Maxwell Alexander Drake.
Marie Force: Building a Self-Publishing Empire
My life was changed forever by self-publishing, and I’ll always be thankful for the opportunity to take control of my career.
10 Things Top Kobo Authors Have in Common
Christine will be hosting a free Bublish webinar on Wednesday, March 21 to talk about what’s new and exciting at KWL and what’s driving book sales at Kobo today.
What Makes A Good Author Bio?
Like yodelling on a mountaintop, when I say the words ‘author bio’ I can hear the collective author groan echo from every corner of the globe. Like eating your vegetables or doing your taxes, writing your author bio is unfortunately an inescapable part of literary life.
From Chaos to Success: My First Twelve Months as an Indie.
Valentine’s Day celebrates love. For me, it also celebrates my first twelve months as an indie author. Some fifteen years after writing the first draft…
How to Reach Readers on Kobo
By C.J. Archer C.J. first started publishing independently in 2011 and was an immediate success—making enough to become a full-time author within her first year.…
Are You Using Kobo Affiliate Links?
By Nicole S., Assistant to Vivian Arend Affiliate income can be an integral part of any author’s income. Finding a system that works best for each of…
Plan To Succeed: How To Give Yourself The Best Start As An Indie Author
by Rachel Amphlett Rachel Amphlett decided to strike out on her own in 2011 after being told by a Big 5 publisher that there was no…
How Going Wide Helped Me Quit My Day Job
by Tracy Cooper-Posey Here’s a question for you: Why did you get into indie publishing?
Are You “Shoulding” on Yourself? An Author’s List of Shoulds
As authors we are constantly under pressure to do so much that we’re left with little time to actually write. How to find that balance and use our time wisely?
Kobo Writing Life Podcast – Episode 099 – BookBub
The episode you can’t miss: how to sell more books with BookBub.
Single-Focus Marketing (or How to Write Better Email Newsletters)
We all want to increase our reader engagement, right? More social media comments, more newsletter opens, more purchases. But did you know that offering more choices might actual result in less action from your readers?
You’ve Got One Chance
I made many mistakes with the original cover of my debut novel, The White Raven. This self-publishing journey has been a series of learning experiences. No matter how much research you do, you’re going to screw up along the way. And that’s okay.
Multi-Layered Readers and How to Reach Them
When I thought about my readers, I lumped them all into one huge bucket. When I sent an email newsletter to my 500 readers, I couldn’t understand why some didn’t open and others didn’t click. . .As an indie author, identifying your readers offers opportunity to brainstorm new ways to connect with her.
How To Show Facebook Love In Just 20 Minutes A Day
Whether you’ve been avoiding Facebook like the plague or are fighting a social networking addiction, you can benefit from trying a schedule like this. You’ll be able to make the most of your time online and save valuable hours for writing!
Five things I learned putting together bundles at Bundle Rabbit
By Barbara G. Tarn Have you heard this great marketing tip? Include your book in a multi-author bundle, so that readers can cross-pollinate among various authors.…
Making the Group Effort
By Michelle M. Pillow I’m considered a hybrid author. I’ve been with big publishers, smaller e-first presses, and now indie. In my experience, the only certainty…
Be A Smart Indie
If you’ve been an independent author for any length of time, you know the market has grown more competitive. So how can your books stand out in such a crowded marketplace?
YOU Are the Brand!
By putting your name front and centre, even if you’ve only sold to family and friends, you’re making a statement that you deserve to be discovered.
Making Promotional Videos on the Cheap
I started making videos last July to promote my first novel, A Time and a Place, published October 1st 2017 by Five Rivers Publishing. I chose videos as a primary means of promotion because I believed they could make the biggest impact, and I could distribute them via multiple platforms for free.
5 Habits of the World’s Most Successful Writers
by Justin Osborn Every writer dreams about the moment when their work hits the bestseller list. We wish for the perseverance and inspiration to churn out…
Five things I learned at a professional writers workshop
By Barbara G. Tarn As an introvert, marketing one’s own work is a huge challenge. Free advertising seems like a great way to get your name…
Multi-Author Bundles: Dos and Don’ts
by Donna Fasano Multi-author anthologies require a lot of hard work. However, if 100% of the participating authors pull together to make the boxed set a…
Find your next read and promote your books with Helloreads
How do you decide what you’re reading next? Checking various book lists? Asking friends? Browsing endlessly through the bottomless internet? Helloreads has built one platform to…
Book Signings: So Much More Than Selling Books
By Chris Mandeville The author book signing: you sit behind piles of your gorgeous books, surrounded by adoring readers who buy your books and have you…
ATTENTION MARKETING: In Person Events
By Susan Faw The journey to become a full time indie author is a daunting learning curve, but never more so than when one begins…
Welcome, Writer: Your Permission Slip Is Here
This piece is excerpted from Stop Worrying; Start Writing: How To Overcome Fear, Self-Doubt and Procrastination by Sarah Painter You Can Do This I am going…
Saving Money on Editing: Tips on Self-Editing
Hiring the right editor for the appropriate edits can often be one of the most challenging as well as the most expensive steps in the publishing…
The Long and Short (but mostly long) of Writing Short Stories
By Chris Mandeville Many writers begin their careers with short stories—they’re easier to tackle and faster to complete. But not me. I dove into novel writing…
How My Self-Published Book Sold 180,000 Copies And Nearly Doubled My Revenue
[This is an abbreviated excerpt of a longer article written by Michael Bungay Stanier on GrowthLab.com. There are links within this excerpt that link to the…
Using Tools for Series Branding
by Allyson Longueira It’s no secret that series branding is essential in the publishing business. Let me rephrase: It should be no secret that series branding is…
How Much Does It Cost To Self Publish?
One of the most common questions asked about self-publishing is: How much does it cost to self-publish? That’s a difficult question to answer in any simple…
Attention Marketing: Eye-Catching Promos
Being a writer, it’s no surprise that Vera Brook is in love with words and stories. But she has always been drawn to photography and other…
Take Your Writing Career To The Next Level at 20BooksVegas
by Craig Martelle Ready to take your writing career to the next level? 20Books Vegas — an independently published author convention by and for indies —…
Cut & Paste Your Way to Inspiration with Collages
by Chris Mandeville Arts and crafts, anyone? Get out your old magazines, some scissors and glue, and a poster board because—believe it or not—creating a…
Using Snapchat To Reach Millennial Readers: 5 Tips
By Joan Selby Although Generation Y has often been criticized, there’s no denying the fact that its members are efficiently well-connected via image-based social media sites…
The Smarter Artist Summit: A Conference for Smarter Introverts
by Mark Lefebvre We all know that, potentially in the same way that writers and coffee/caffeine seem to be a natural fit, there’s a highly likely…