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

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

2211, 2013

Calls for Submission #1

Beverly Bambury/ November 22, 2013/ Calls for Submission, Submissions, Useful Stuff, Writing Markets/ 0 comments

Figuring out where to submit your short stories and novels? This is the first of a reoccurring column by Selene MacLeod, who administers Facebook groups Call for Submissions: Poetry, Fiction, Art and Open Call: Science Fiction, Fantasy and Pulp. Sign up to receive this blog’s posts by email; make sure you don’t miss useful stuff in the social media shuffle! Today’s post is an introduction as well as a listing. With that, I’ll leave the rest to Selene. Greetings to Beverly’s readers! Whenever I see Beverly’s name, I always think of that nursery rhyme “with bells on her fingers and bells on her toes.” Kind of hard to type that way, but it’s a pretty picture. As promised, I will be giving you a taste of

2211, 2013

How Far in Advance to Hire a Publicist and a Book Marketing Plan Timeline: Book Marketing without B.S. #4

Beverly Bambury/ November 22, 2013/ Author Readings, Blog Tour, Book Marketing, BookMarketingWithoutBS, Publicity, Publishing, Queries, reviews, Scheduling, Self-Promotion, self-publishing, Timing, Traditional Media, Useful Stuff/ 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. Today brings another pair of related questions. The first is “How long before my book comes out should I hire a publicist?” It depends to a certain degree what you’re looking for and on how in-demand the publicist is. My business is relatively young, so six months is plenty of lead time for me, and I can absolutely work with much less if required. I’ve even done emergency publicity! Ideally, for prose novels, pre-work work

1611, 2013

Coming Soon: Calls for Submission Column

Beverly Bambury/ November 16, 2013/ Announcements, Facebook, Guest Post, Publishing, Submissions, Useful Stuff/ 0 comments

In the next week or two I’ll have the first of a reoccurring column aggregating calls for submission. It will be by Selene MacLeod who also administers the successful Facebook group Calls for Submissions (Poetry, Fiction, Art). If this is what you like to see, sign up for email notifications of new posts so that you don’t miss a thing!