How important is your book cover? According to Shelia Renee Johnson, the owner of N’Digo Design, very! Below you will find my interview with the graphic designer and owner regarding covers, marketing materials, and much more. N’DigoDesign has been in web/graphic design for 9 years, and has a customer base consisting of authors, musical artists, and commercial businesses that spans throughout the U.S. as well as Europe.
The decision to send your manuscript to a freelance editor can be a tough one. It doesn’t matter if you’re self publishing your work or submitting it to a traditional publishing company, the choice to hire an editor can depend on a lot of factors including the editor’s cost to you, the editor’s reputation, and [...]
For many years I’ve posted information on the very popular messageboard, The African-American Literary Book Club’s (AALBC) Thumper’s Corner (www.thumperscorner.com). A few years later, I purchased a banner ad on the African American literary site to promote my debut novel. Most recently after many years reviewing for the [...]
Don’t let the headshot fool you. A brother needs to lose a few pounds. I tried the Fat Smash Diet last year (a sensible diet that combines healthy eating and exercise) and managed to lose ten pounds fast. Then those old habits started creeping in, like eating [...]
If you’re a writer, especially one with a day job, beware! They’re watching you. Who exactly are they? Everyone. Employers. Co-workers. Fans. Even stalkers. And this is all made possible by your friendly neighborhood Internet service provider.
With so many new authors popping up by way of subsidy and self publishing (present company included), you have to wonder who exactly is getting paid in this industry. Are the authors who turn out those books and become guerilla sellers and marketers getting paid or are they still working the heck out of those [...]
November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), a challenge started by writer Chris Baty in 1999. The goal is for new and seasoned authors to complete a 50,000-word first draft in 30 days or less. NaNoWriMo, which is basically an exercise in free writing, is not necessarily about writing a novel for publishing (although participants [...]
Ever heard this one? “Read my book and tell me what you think.” If you’re an author, you probably get in all the time. At booksignings. Via e-mail. From the book groupie you just gave some good lovin’. The problem is, the majority of [...]
Not so long ago, becoming a published author was a big deal. It usually meant you had completed a great manuscript, queried literary agents and publishers, and was eventually published by one of the behemoth publishing companies or maybe even a small press. Becoming a published author usually meant some monetary reward in [...]
With my third book set to be released in April, I’m getting to be an old pro when it comes to publishing a book. But it wasn’t always that way. From my humor book “A Job Ain’t Nothing But Work: Confessions of a Corporate Negro” to my novel “Where is the Love?” to [...]
