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.
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.
by Tracy Cooper-Posey Here’s a question for you: Why did you get into indie publishing?
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?
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.
By Frances Caballo You’ve self-published your book, celebrated your launch, and sold books to most of your friends, family members and colleagues. Now, you’re even blogging. But…
Are you looking for more ways to promote your books on Kobo? Are you looking to build your author profile on social media? Kobo Writing Life…
You might recognize Chris Mandeville from the inspiring and engaging monthly articles she shares on this website. But readers will likely remember Chris because of the…
Guest Post by Deborah Cooke (Abridged from a version originally published on www.deborahcooke.com) Book charms are adorable and readers love them. I’ve bought them in the…
Patricia W. Fischer writes Red Hot romance. It’s true. We found that out when we met her at the Romance Writers of America annual conference in…
Kobo Writing Life is a proud sponsor of The Creative Penn podcast for a very good reason: Because of the incredible value that Joanna Penn brings…
If you write in English and have translated your books into French or some other foreign language, you’ve undoubtedly found yourself faced with the unique challenge…
Standing out in a crowed marketplace is something that smart authors and publishers do. We have raved about it in the past, and here’s another example…
In this industry where thousands of new titles are published every week, it’s in a publisher’s and author’s best interest to do everything they can to…
By Mark Dawson I can still remember it, even three years later. I had published my first indie novel, The Black Mile, and had arranged a…
You may have noticed that Kobo Writing Life is now offering Author Services. One of the services that we’re excited to be involved in is with PW…
by Cheri Allan If you’re a busy writer whose idea of due diligence is analyzing the relative hotness of random shirtless fireman memes on Facebook, I’ll…
When did you first discover a love of writing? I never imagined I would make writing my career when I was young. I didn’t figure that…
by Katie Cross When I decided to go off KDP Select my sales pretty much plummeted and took my ego with it. Just kidding. No I’m not.…
When did you first discover a love of writing? Is there a particular book that made you want to become a writer? I started writing my…
How can authors target readers on a specific platform? What’s the best way to educate your audience about their book-buying and eReader options, to ensure…
By Kate Hilton On May 7th, it will be exactly two years since I self-published The Hole in the Middle. I remember it vividly. I was…
In an increasingly commercial and competitive media-sphere, getting media coverage for ‘difficult books’—books not written by established authors and not published by well-known publishers—might strike…
Reader reviews are BACK at Kobo! As authors know, reviews definitely help readers decide whether or not they are going to buy a book or download…
By Linda Poitevin If you’re a writer and you haven’t yet heard of Wattpad (or you’ve heard of it but dismissed it), you’re not alone…and you…
Listen in as KWL Director Mark Lefebvre interviews nonfiction author Michael Rank, whose titles include HISTORY’S WORST DICTATORS and FROM MUHAMMED TO BURJ KHALIFA: A Crash…
By Adam Dreece There’s nothing like finding readers live tweeting your book as they read it, or finding them promoting your book to their friends. It’s…
In our latest podcast, KWL US Manager Christine Munroe interviews bestselling author and self-publishing expert Pamela Fagan Hutchins. Pamela has written the book on self-publishing, WHAT…
Last night, the Kobo Writing Life team was thrilled to welcome Joanna Penn to our Toronto office. Joanna is a bestselling author-entrepreneur and professional speaker, and…
“One day, one site, hundreds of authors and free books, all to celebrate our readers!” …
By Merry Farmer I, Merry Farmer, am an indie author. And I’m proud of it, too. I was never really interested in taking a path to publication…
By Evo Terra Google has built an interesting and useful platform that’s designed to be approachable. Many elements baked into Google+ make it the ideal social…
By Kathy Meis First, you stall. Next, you make a pot of coffee and allow yourself to be easily distracted…for hours. Admit it. You’ll do just…
By Patty Jansen When other writers hear that I sell quite well on Kobo, the reaction is invariably: how do you do that? I don’t even…
Major book fairs are where mainstream publishers showcase their lists, sell their books to retailers, and make valuable connections. This year at book expo America, the…
Want to escalate the traffic to your eBooks and increase sales? We know it’s difficult for self-published authors to get the exposure they need for their…
By Steve Vernon My belt is shrinking. I don’t know how it is happening but every month that sucker seems to grow just a little snugger…
By Kristie Cook Going to conferences and conventions may not be at the top of your priority list as an indie author. After all, they’re expensive,…
When it comes to being an indie author, there’s strength in numbers. That’s the paradoxical truth discovered by the twelve members of The Jewels of Historical…
by Tina Folsom When I first saw book trailers pop up on blogs and websites, I was frankly baffled. Why would anybody make a book trailer?…
By Maia Sepp What are some free – or nearly free – ways for the penny-pinching indie writer to promote their Kobo books and build their…
By Lindsay Buroker As an independent author (okay, as any kind of author), it’s a struggle to get noticed. You’ve written a wonderful book, but how…
This past February was IndieReCon, an online convention for self-publishers. Every hour, eight hours a day, for three days, industry professionals of all stripes posted articles,…
by Emily Craven It’s been announced with fog-horns this year that 2012 was the year of the self-published author. There’s no doubt that indies have made…
What happens when six incredible authors and editors get together? They get amazing ideas to help anyone who’s curious get into indie publishing! So started IndieReCon,…
Reading bad reviews of your work can be tough – we might feel that they’re unsubstantiated, that the reviewer simply “didn’t get it,” or that they…
We want to make 2013 the year YOU break through! So we’ll be supplying some helpful tidbits on how to accomplish this. If you don’t already…
by Rebecca Hamilton Being inclusive toward an international audience is something that has been important to me since I first published. If someone wants to read…
Nathan Maharaj, Kobo’s own Director of Merchandising (otherwise known as Head Bookseller) put together some thoughts to answer the question he most often gets from publishers…
If you happen to be in the Toronto area, come to the Professional Writers Association of Canada’s event: Self-Publish & Market Your Book. Thursday November 22nd,…