Do you know about the FREE Children’s Story Magic writing course?

New session begins February 1st! Here's what you'll get, in 30 days: Character - creating heroes and villains that we'll love Wonderful words - choosing and using the best nouns, verbs, adjective and more Dialogue - tools to put words in your characters' mouths Plot - crafting a story that keeps us on our toes Each day's email is a tasty, bite-sized...

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Fed up with Kindle Kids’ Book Creator? Try this free, easy 5-step alternative.

Scared to try doing Kindle books because you’re no techie?  Or have you decided that the Kindle Kids’ Book Creator isn’t the software for you (Here are 5 reasons why it isn’t.) but don’t know what to use instead?  Relax. Seriously, there is an alternative.  And it’s easy, free, and doesn’t need much more than a working knowledge...

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Building an author mailing list: PART 2, Calls to action.

  You know you want one.  You know you NEED one.  But how do you GET one in the first place? (If you’re not convinced yet, go back and read Part 1 of this 3-part series to find out why you need an author mailing list.  And then take a look at Part 3, which takes you through the (super-easy) steps to get started.) The best way to...

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The disappointment: 5 reasons I’m not using Kindle Kids’ Book Creator software anymore

Remember how excited I was when Amazon/Kindle released their Kids’ Book Creator software?  And hey, no wonder!  The thing is relatively fast and easy to use, and can turn any book in PDF form into a Kindle ebook with a snap of your fingers.  So many of us lack the technical skills to transform our books that this software totally...

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Pricing your self-published kids’ books: are you doing it wrong? (5 essential guidelines)

Did you ever have a garage sale or yard sale? I have, and one of the toughest parts was figuring out how to price the stuff I was selling.  You want it to go, but you want to make something.  Your stuff is valuable – at least to you – plus, you want to get paid for your time and trouble in setting everything up. It’s sort of like that when...

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Building an author mailing list: PART 1, Do you need one?

Do you need an author mailing list?  Yes, you do. Seriously.  You need a mailing list, period. This is Part 1 of a 3-part series that will convince you that you do.  And prove that it’s super-easy to get started.  Part 2 will show you how to get readers to sign up, and Part 3 is the nitty-gritty how-to (but don’t worry, it’s easy...

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The dark evil flipside of freebies: BAD reviews.

There are lots of reasons you might want to offer your books for free.  But there are some reasons you DON’T want to as well. Such as… BAD REVIEWS. Here’s the thing about human nature:  most of us have this built-in complaint reflex.  As long as things are going okay… then okay!  We coast along, enjoying our lives. But when something...

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Best of the Indie Children’s Book Covers – new contest for 2015!

2015 CONTEST NOW OPEN! (FOR BOOKS PUBLISHED BETWEEN DECEMBER 1, 2014 AND NOVEMBER 30, 2015) When it comes to marketing your self-published book, your cover is everything.  It’s a flyer, a billboard, a trailer, all rolled into one… and it has to be just as compelling in its teeny tiny thumbnail version. I was so excited about my Top 19 indie...

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Why give your books away for free?

How do you feel about freebies? When I posted  about how I use KDP Freebies, I got some very intense reactions.  Some people were angry that readers have come to expect freebies, others mystified – wondering why writers would bother to offer them.  One response was sort of a cross between the two:  angry AND mystified. Nothing's...

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