by Julie Cantrell The standard advice given to writers is to brand yourself. Find a genre, and stick with it. This strategy has proven successful for many contemporary authors such as Danielle Steel and Mary Higgins Clark, but even Jane Austen had perfected the practice years earlier, and Agatha Christie used it to pen mysteries […]

June Stevens Westerfield What is an author brand?  Some say it’s the genre you write.  But it’s really not, at least not entirely.  Your brand is what makes you recognizable to readers.  In short, your name is your brand. If you are a romance reader and someone says “Hey, I’m reading the new Nora book,” […]

Christopher Lentz If you’re reading this, you’re probably a storyteller. That’s part “story” and part “teller.” So what do your book covers tell potential readers? First confession: I may be new to the self-publishing world, but I’m not a newcomer to the universe of design and marketing. Since the launch of my novel, Blossom, I […]

By Laura Drake I am NOT a techie. I don’t know software, I’m not a graphics designer. Heck I can’t even use a camera well! I’m an accountant. That translates to: I’m cheap. Too cheap to pay someone to build a website for me. Besides, I have to admit, turning my website over to someone […]

 By D. A. Watt In my two previous blogs, I covered three other key lessons I've learned from horses; Attitude, Knowledge, and Imagination. Notice, talent is not included in my title. It’s not about talent; it’s about the three T’s of craft. If you’ve been writing for years, then you’ve got talent. My bet is you’ve […]