2102, 2014

Winners Announced!

Beverly Bambury/ February 21, 2014/ Announcements, author services, Book Marketing, DIY, editing, Marketing, Publicity, Publishing, Self-Promotion, self-publishing, Useful Stuff, writers/ 0 comments

Thanks once again to everyone who entered and who shared and tweeted. Your support is fantastic and I couldn’t do this without you. This has also been a great chance to promote my non-publicity campaign services, of which there are many you can see here. Some of my favourites are social media planning and coaching, and copy editing, and even though it’s not officially on the list, I enjoy critique as well. It’s likely to end up on the list at some point. So please contact me and ask about these other services. I can work with any budget, so don’t be shy. Anyhow! here are the three winners: Karina Sumner-Smith Site | TwitterJessica Meddows Site | TwitterTeri Kline Twitter (and yes, I know the name on

1702, 2014

Enter Here to Win Free Consulting or Critiques!

Beverly Bambury/ February 17, 2014/ Announcements, author services, Book Marketing, DIY, editing, Marketing, Publicity, Publishing, Self-Promotion, self-publishing, Useful Stuff, writers/ 0 comments

Subscribe (and confirm–check that spam email box!) to my email list and you will be entered to win two consulting or editorial hours. You can use the time toward: Help creating your book or comic’s marketing plan A complete flash fiction critique and copy edit A full social media consultation and plan A brief critique of a novella or a partial of a novel Website critique/planning assistance Any other publishing- or marketing-related consultation time Three winners will be selected at random from mailing list subscribers who have joined and confirmed by clicking the response link (remember it may go to a spam filter) by 11:59 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday, February 19th. Not sure how to join the list? Subscribe right here. Note that the

0502, 2014

A Promise of Better Craft in Self-Publishing (or Slow the Eff Down): Book Marketing without B.S. #10

Beverly Bambury/ February 5, 2014/ BookMarketingWithoutBS, Budget, cover art, DIY, editing, Publishing, self-publishing, Useful Stuff/ 0 comments

The other day Chuck Wendig shared a blog post he wrote entitled “Slushy Glut Slog: Why the Self-Publishing Shit Volcano Is a Problem“. You should read it, assuming that some “shit” and “fuck” aren’t going to be offensive to your delicate sensibilities, and particularly if you’re thinking about taking the self-publishing path or starting a small publisher. It’s already up to almost 200 comments, including a long one from Mark Coker, founder of Smashwords. Stick with reading it even though it’s long and it may piss you off. It’s not an anti-self-pub screed; but, a way toward a solution that elevates independent writers–and to be perfectly blunt–a number of small publishers, too. Anyway, I won’t rehash Chuck. He breaks it down so well that there’s no point in

0701, 2014

Calls for Submission #3

Beverly Bambury/ January 7, 2014/ Calls for Submission, Submissions, Useful Stuff, Writing Markets/ 2 comments

Once again I bring you Selene MacLeod with Calls for Submission (CfS). You can see all of the CfS columns here. Enjoy, and Happy New Year! – Beverly Happy New Year! I hope you had a joyous and wonderful holiday and are feeling productive. Myself, I like to hibernate during the winter months, but this year, there is too much going on. First, a plea. Crossed Genres Magazine, a pro market and all-around cool e-mag, needs to sell subscriptions to keep going. Check them out here: http://crossedgenres.com. They’ve got several upcoming submission calls, so be sure to take a look at their guidelines while you’re there. Pro Markets seeking submissions: Fantasy & Science-Fiction. Special guest editor CC Finlay. No special theme for the July/August

2312, 2013

Amazon Exclusivity and KDP Select: Book Marketing without B.S. #7

Beverly Bambury/ December 23, 2013/ author services, BookMarketingWithoutBS, Budget, comic creators, DIY, Publishing, self-publishing, Useful Stuff, writers/ 3 comments

Book Marketing without B.S. is a weekly publicity and marketing advice column for writers and other creators who prefer a realistic, clear, and no-nonsense approach. My goal is to help you cut through the bullshit with direct, understandable advice you won’t be embarrassed to follow. Send your questions to beverly@beverlybambury.com. Once I began working independently of a publisher, I ran into an issue that I hadn’t dealt with before: exclusivity with Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) Select program. From a publicity perspective I found it frustrating, as I have contacts affiliated with other book-buying outlets and I am unable to call on them in exclusivity situations. Why would they help with a book they can’t sell, after all? Still, I know it is more complicated

1412, 2013

Inspiration vs Newsjacking: Book Marketing without B.S. #6

Beverly Bambury/ December 14, 2013/ Book Marketing, BookMarketingWithoutBS, DIY, Marketing, Publicity, Self-Promotion, Twitter/ 0 comments

Book Marketing without B.S. is a weekly publicity and marketing advice column for writers and other creators who prefer a realistic, clear, and no-nonsense approach. My goal is to help you cut through the bullshit with direct, understandable advice you won’t be embarrassed to follow. Send your questions to beverly@beverlybambury.com. My client, writer Chris Irvin, did a blog post about the assassinated Mexican physician and politician Maria Santos Gorrostieta, which inspired his novella, Federales. He was concerned that the post might be interpreted as using a tragedy for his own marketing benefit. I advised that the post was just fine, and that the real problem were things such as the infamous Cairo tweet from Kenneth Cole. Sure, Kenneth Cole got a lot of attention; but, the majority

0812, 2013

GenreLitChat #1: Storify Transcript

Beverly Bambury/ December 8, 2013/ #GenreLitChat, authors, Book Marketing, Interviews, Publicity, Storify, Transcript, Twitter, writers/ 0 comments

The first #GenreLitChat this past Thursday went well. The three authors who were on the panel (John Mantooth, Heidi Ruby Miller, and Nathan Ballingrud,) had a good time, and as the moderator I found myself surprised by how quickly the hour went. I had several questions I wish I’d had time to ask. All in all, it’s not a bad thing to be left wanting more! If you missed it, you can check out the Storify transcript below. You can also follow the #GenreLitChat hashtag via Twitter itself, or on Twubs. Let me know what you think in the comments, and thank you–as always–for reading. [View the story “GenreLitChat #1: Mantooth, Ballingrud, and Miller” on Storify]

0612, 2013

Calls for Submission #2

Beverly Bambury/ December 6, 2013/ Calls for Submission, Submissions, Useful Stuff, Writing Markets/ 0 comments

Greetings! Thanks to Beverly, and to you readers, membership on the Facebook Call For Submissions groups is growing every day. In this week’s column, I’d like to bring everyone’s attention to the upcoming changes to the SFWA’s membership requirements. At present, both the Horror Writers’ Association (HWA) and SFWA (Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America) consider professional payment to be $0.05 per word. In order to become a member of the SFWA, one must have three paid sales to a Qualifying Professional Market, for a cumulative total of at least $250. As of July 1, 2014, in order to qualify as a professional market, the minimum payment will be raised to $0.06 per word. The HWA has not announced any plans to change