Regardless of your experience level, Amazon has democratized the publishing business so anybody with an interest and desire to write and publish a book can do it. You don’t have to be a professional writer… or have been previously published… or have any internet business experience at all to start with Amazon self-publishing. Anybody can use this p…

The traditional format of a book launch tends to involve a few different components; an author, a venue, an audience, copies of the book and free wine (if you’re lucky). Most of these elements can be transferred online with a little ingenuity. If you’re unable to hold a book launch in person (or you’re hoping to reach a new audience online) here ar…

Authors are said to fall into one of two groups: the plotters, those that outline every step of their novel before they begin, and the pantsers, those prefer to ‘fly by the seat of their pants’, creating the story as they write. Both plotting and pantsing have their pros and cons and both can produce fantastic novels. If you fall into the pantser c…

Has this ever happened to you? You sit down at your computer to begin writing, but instead you find yourself having a stare down with the blank screen. You may type a few lines, but after several minutes you delete everything. You just can’t seem to find the right words to continue. It’s as if your inspiration inkwell has suddenly dried up. If you …

JTM Books Podcast Now Available

When it comes to being an author, your best bet for success is attracting the right readers. Contrary to popular belief, you should never aim to attract all types of readers, because your content isn’t going to speak to all of them the same way. As an author, establishing a brand is one of the best ways you can put yourself out there and show peopl…

If you write only because you love to, you won’t need to bother with marketing. But if you are publishing by yourself and wish to be read by as many among your target audience as possible, you will have to learn an additional skill—how to market your books. It would help to be clear about your goals at the outset, because effective book marketing t…

Whether you’re working with a traditional publisher or you’re going the self-publishing route, one thing’s the same: You need to market your book. Most published authors, especially of the first time variety, won’t have access to a full-suite of marketing. Chances are, you’re working with a smaller publisher that has an even smaller marketing budge…

“Front matter” and “back matter” are terms used to describe the first and last pages of a book (but not the actual story or body content of the book). This includes pages like: table of contents, copyright, bio, etc. The purpose of front matter is mostly to make sure your book looks as professional as possible. While it might not seem like a market…

In order to make a name for yourself, and therefore make money self-publishing, you have to first get your name out there: on social media, in the blogosphere, and in bookstores. Marketing your work is essential to success. There are many ways to promote yourself and your book—from low lifts to options that require more effort. You’ve dreamed of ma…

I know. With the greatest of respect for book designers and internal formatters, formatting isn’t exactly the sexiest of topics for an author to consider. But, if you don’t know how to format a book it can cost you a reader. You’d much rather paint a new world on the canvas of your book than talk about unadorned, 12-point Times New Roman. But that’…

A short, yet precise podcast about traditional publishing vs self-publishing.