This is a Career Indie Author post that won’t go into the book, because it’s about basic story editing. This came about after reading a genre novel that was by someone who’s written a half-dozen of them. I hadn’t read anything by him before, but the description snagged my interest so I threw a couple […]
My grocery bag technique always uses a line of trim. This is not just because decorating cloth bags look nice. 1 The trim line fulfills several functions. Firstly, it covers up the raw edges of the folded over bag top without adding more bulk. This is important as you don’t have to use trim at […]
I’ve been exercising to The Author Biz podcasts, and heard about an author who I wanted to check out. I listened for her name, and her character, and when I was done I hit the Google. Forty-five minutes later, I had this column on author website mistakes for the Career Indie Author. Because this author’s […]
Here are a few tools I recommend that will make sewing cloth grocery bags easier. (We should have pictures of the gadgets) A sewing machine, needles, pins, thread. You can sew a cloth grocery bag by hand, but a sewing machine makes the job light-years faster. A walking foot. You don’t need one, but it […]
Writing and designing a book ad is intimidating, but it might not be as hard as you think. After all, you write stories, right? You use your imagination to invent characters and situations. You have the ability to revise your story, to eliminate ineffective and useless words and make the rest more effective. You even […]
Today we learn how to make cloth grocery bags. I developed this list because I demand a lot from them: * They should last forever. * They should stand, at least a little, so a bagger can load them. * The handles should be durable enough to last as long as the fabric. * The […]
We all need Hemingway’s shockproof bullshit detector, but it’s vital when you’re running your own business. Career indie authors have so many options to promote themselves and their books that they have to develop the skills to determine if the poke they’re being sold really contains the pig, or a bag of busted balloon. Today’s […]
As mentioned before, there are three ways to reach customers: through marketing, publicity, and advertising. Marketing is anything you do to spread the word, such as blogging on a website, soliciting reviews, passing out leaflets in the street. Publicity is what you can get someone else to write about you. Author advertising is anything you […]
Should you wash the fabric you are going to use to make cloth grocery bags? As always, it seems, the answer is “it depends.” If the fabric is new, unstained, odor-free, and clean, then probably not. Any sizing won’t matter as it will stiffen the finished bags. If you ever wash the finished bags, it […]
Probably the most effective way of staying in touch with your dedicated readers is through an author newsletter. It’s the perfect match: you have something you want to sell, and they are there to hear your message. They want to hear from you ; if they didn’t, that’s what the “unsubscribe” link is for. Best […]