by Michael Cristiano

I thought writing a novel was the hard part. I thought endless drafting and editing and proofreading involved the most work when it came to being a writer.

I was wrong. My debut novel has been on sale for a little less than a month, and I came to the conclusion very early on in its release that writing it was the easy (and far more enjoyable) part. Why? you ask.

Marketing. Marketing is a hard and seemingly endless process. Why is it so hard?

Best selling books are more likely to happen when authors use smart Amazon keywords. When used wisely, keywords help strangers from all over the world find your books. Most authors are missing out because the whole metadata thing can be confusing. Think of it like this:

• At bookstores, readers browse in sections where covers, titles and blurbs help them decide to inspect further.
• Online, readers type phrases into the search bar where the most relevant books show up in the results (or the books Amazon thinks are most relevant).

Obvious question: how to choose the best ones so the search engine at Amazon leads browsers to your book? Here are 7 tips to help select the best words and phrases plus a tutorial video at YouTube at the bottom of this post.

(Save 83% off the video course)

1. Make a list of words customers might use in…

What kind of CreateSpace cover does your paperback need? There are pros and cons to each. Matte is often preferred for novels, gloss often preferred for non-fiction. This video and photos below speak volumes.

The matte cover is on the left. The text is a bit easier to read and overall aesthetics may be better. But the glossy cover has richer tones, most noticeable in darker colors.

Save 87% Format MS Word for CreateSpace

In the 2nd photo, the sheen is more obvious as seen at an angle with light in the background. Small scratches and fingerprints come out from the thicker layer of gloss in the laminate. However, the cover curl is already worse with the matte book, which is a concern because it’s 2 months newer than the book on the right.

Again, you can see from the back cover (on left) how different the richness of the colors…

We featured Allison Maruska on Blogging for Authors and Newbies back in 2015. Now her book has sold over 20,000 copies and has 500 Amazon reviews!

That’s beyond exciting. That’s a dream come true for most writers. And you can do it too!

Here’s what she had to say back then, and below is a link to what she’s learned since.

Allison, it’s always nice when your full name exists as a custom URL. Did that make your decision easy?

I figured using my name would be the quickest way for my book readers to find me.

How long have you had it and how often do you post?

I’ve had this blog for a little over a year, but I had a Blogger site for a couple years before that. I try to post at least weekly, usually 2 times per week.

What do you like the most about your blog?…

ISBN is for International Standard Book Number, issued by a select agency in the nation where the publisher resides. You’re probably familiar with 10 or 13 digit ISBNs appearing on the copyright page or above the barcode on the back of a print version book. The barcode just identifies the ISBN and may or may not include a price.

Even though ISBN is a number corresponding to a book, it has more to do with the publisher and edition than the title and author. For example, the same ebook could have several ISBNs for different retailers selling it, and it would need another ISBN for a paperback version and yet another for a hardcover or audio book. A separate version is needed for the ePub file compared to the mobi file. Or if you change the trim size of a paperback, like from 5 x 8 inches to 6 x 9…

Like ISBN, copyright questions are common and the legalities of it can be complex. In most cases, copyright is something an author won’t need to spend much time worrying about. The tasks to copyright a book are straightforward, starting with simply writing a book. If you have any concerns, this fact alone should give some relief;

By writing your book, you own the copyright.

In 1886 The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works was signed as an international agreement on copyright. Your creation is your intellectual property. Think of it like this: only you have the “right” to “copy” your work and sell it; nobody else has the right to copy your work and sell it.

Your book is automatically under copyright, extending from the time you write it. However, there is a stipulation of proof. You need to commit the work to a readable form perceptible either…

The Hungry Monster Book Awards are awarded to books that have astounded and amazed us with unique writing styles, vivid worlds, complex characters, and original ideas. These books deserve extraordinary praise and The Hungry Monster is proud to acknowledge the hard work, dedication, and imagination of these talented authors.

Gold Award Winners

Silver Award Winners

The Onryo by Rocco Ryg

Slippery Things by Lane Baker

The Great Scourge by C.A. MacLean

The Heart of Hannen by Fawn Bonning

Jesus and Magdalene by João Cerqueira

The Crown Princess Voyage by Dylan Madeley

“Books give me the freedom to step outside of myself. That words alone can transport the reader to a reality as believable as the one he or she actually lives in, should not logically be possible. It’s a kind of real life magic.” – Alex C. Vick, author of Stealing Magic

Visit the Hungry Monster Book Awards page to…

Drawing by hibbay. Click for more of her awesome work.

I do a lot of my own design work, and I know that many of you do, too. I guess it’s one of the perks of being an Indie author; for better or worse, the only limit to what we do is our imagination. And our skills. Which is why I thought you’d enjoy these links that explain how to make your own dyed paper textures, and lets you download dozens of paper backgrounds – for free! These work great as a background for any of your ads, like Facebook ads etc.

Many thanks to Hillary Luetkemeyer, aka hibbay, for sharing her amazing talent with us!

• You can download 16 paper textures from Hillary’s DeviantArt page.
• You can download 15 more paper textures here
• You can also download 30 paper textures for free from Graphic Mania
• And you can