Publishing with iUniverse — Yea or Nay? (an iUniverse review)

Lessons learned from working with iUniverse.

Before we get into the nitty gritty details of this topic, let’s begin with establishing what exactly iUniverse is, and what makes it different from traditional publishing and self-publishing. In a nutshell, there are three types of publishing:

So there’s the breakdown. iUniverse is an assisted/vanity publisher, meaning you pay them money and they publish your book for you. Assisted/vanity publishers have a God-awful reputation amongst self-published authors, due to their tendency to squeeze authors for every penny they have. There have also been all sorts of lawsuits filed over missed/inaccurate royalty payments, publishing books without the author’s permission, etc. On the other hand, many authors have gone with assisted/vanity publishers and been perfectly satisfied.

So … iUniverse — Yea or Nay?

The Good

• The friendliness. Every employee I have ever spoken to at iUniverse has been incredibly polite, friendly, and eager to assist me in any way they can…

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Marketing/self publishing with Harry Steinman

Great advice on how to effectively use Kickstarter to fund your self-published book!

readful things blog

When you first begin anything, there is cause to be frightened of the unknown. Searching out unfamiliar territory and trying to get everything you need lined out for a new book project is no exception. Usually, if a door closes a window will open. Harry Steinman is here to give you some ideas about how to bypass the window and the door and knock out a wall instead. Need funding to get that book going? Here are some ideas.

The Kindness of Strangers:

How To Fund a Self-Published Novel With Kickstarter

By Harry Steinman, a One-Hit Wonder

Like it or lump it: self-publishing costs money. Every element of your book must be excellent. You must spend your hard-earned shekels or your book will look amateurish.

Good things are rarely cheap, and cheap things are rarely good. Don’t skimp on buying the expertise you need, and don’t publish unless your writing…

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Book Advertising Sites

Book Advertising Sites.  Check out this list of sites to advertise your books, with commentary from Charles E Yallowitz.  Definitely bookmark-worthy!

Success is in the Eye of the Beholder

What is success? Number of sales, size of royalties, the mere act of writing?

Legends of Windemere

So, I’ve gotten into a few ‘debates’ with people on this side of the computer.  This ‘debate’ is about what constitutes success for a self-published author.  Back in the day, you were successful when you got a contract and got your first royalty check.  That doesn’t seem to be the case any more.

I remember reading that 500 eBooks being sold is the sign of a moderate success.  I still don’t know if this is true.  This is only the sales level. It doesn’t mention anything about royalties.  Supposedly, there is a difference between 500 eBooks at .99 cents and 500 eBooks at $2.99.  The later is a sign of more success than the former.

What am I getting at here?  Every person is going to look at an indie author’s progress differently.  Some will look at amount of sales, others at amount of reviews, others at royalties, and any…

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A Frustrated Reader

This post is a must-read for every Indie writer out there.

From the Red Room: Reality Check? by Jules Jacob

For anyone looking to self-publish your poetry (or any other writing for that matter), you may want to read the following post by Jules Jacob: Reality Check?Ms. Jacob's essay is a response to an article posted in the January/February issue of Poets & Writers magazine by poet and critic Reagan Upshaw.  She contends that the "advice"…

“Sunday Dinner” at The Community Storyboard

Read my short short story currently featured at The Community Storyboard!

Guest Blog: Do’s and Dont’s of Indie Authoring by Ionia Martin

Great (and funny) list of do’s and dont’s by Ionia Martin!

Legends of Windemere

This week’s guest blog is brought to us by the delightful, funny, and hard-working Ionia Martin of Readful Things.  She also is the mastermind behind The Community Storyboard where writers and readers from all walks of life can gather for some fun.  Did I mention she’s hard-working?  If you haven’t had the joy of checking out both of Ionia’s blogs then I suggest you take the time to do so.

Now, I asked Ionia to make a list of Do’s and Donts’ for the Indie Authors.  I thank her for taking up the challenge and having fun with it.  Enjoy.

So you have decided to be an indie author, huh?

I can always count on Charles Yallowitz, the owner of this here excellent blog for two things. Number 1: He writes great books.

Number 2: He is always entertaining and ensures that his posts far outweigh any other responsibilities…

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Services Offered

Check out C.N. Faust’s services for authors!

C.N. Faust

Hello my darlings,

This is me creating a post for easier re-blogging because the last one was kind of crammed with too much personal information. So from my other services page, this is a list of what I have to offer. Please feel free to contact me via my Contact page or my email address cnfaust@outlook.com 🙂

Formatting

eBook: For $10 an hour I will format your eBook for Amazon KDP (or various other eBook distributors, including Lulu and Nook). This usually takes me between 2 – 4 straight hours depending on what kind of shape the book is in when I get it. Work hours can be considerably less.

Print: For $12 an hour I will format your book for Amazon Createspace (or various other print distributors, including Lulu). This usually takes me between 4 – 6 hours depending on the shape the book is in when I get it…

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Book Review: Twelve Days–The Beginning by Jade Reyner

In exchange for an honest review, Ms. Reyner provided me with a copy of her debut novel, Twelve Days--The Beginning.  My intent in reviewing her book was mainly to provide feedback regarding a particular chapter that she had softened out of concern that detailed content might be too brutal.  So I read her novel in…