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Contests & Awards: Are They Worth It?

Author: Laura Resnick

Contests & Awards: Are They Worth It?

Authors are always on the lookout for ways to garner more publicity for their books. One way that’s been around for quite a while is to enter a contest. But there are many contests out there, and some of them charge high fees to enter, or require that you mail printed books to judges at your cost. The first thing to consider is what you want from the contest or award. Is there a cash prize, which can be beneficial for writers whose income is often sporadic and unpredictable, or simply a certificate?...

awards, business, career, Discovery, Marketing, promotion

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Unlocking the Power of Pinterest: Discover How Pinterest Can Elevate Your Author Platform, Connect With Readers, & Boost Book Sales

An author’s job: It’s not just writing It’s no secret that only half an author’s job is the actual writing of a book. The other half falls squarely in the realm of marketing. If you’re like me, spending that much time trying to build your brand and reach a wider audience is not what you want to be doing. Social media While it’s true that social media has become a critical component of marketing strategies for brands, and while I spent years bobbing back and forth between various social media platforms,...

business, Discovery, Marketing, social media

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Finding Your Sweet Spot as a Hybrid Author

Traditional publishers offer the whole gamut of getting a book to market. Certain titles can receive attention from everything from editorial crews to marketing departments to teams devoted to online and digital sales. There could even be the boost of imprint-wide campaigns as well as outreach to influencers. The author, however, drives few, if any, of these decisions. On the flip side, publishing independently allows an author complete control of all aspects. From designing a cover to choosing...

business, career, goals, hyrbid, indie, professionalism, Publishing, self-publishing, traditional publishing, Writing

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How to Overcome a Muddling Middle

It is a truth universally acknowledged that stories have a beginning, middle, and an end. For some authors, the beginning of the story gives them trouble as they grapple with whether to start a book in medias res (“in the midst of things”), when the reader and character are plunged into a crucial situation, or by conveying the protagonist’s everyday world so the reader bonds with that character until the inciting incident elicits the ultimate story question. In the September 2023 edition of Nink,...

craft, Writing

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Six Things Authors Should Know About Copyright and Contracts

This is it. You’ve made it. You’ve gotten a call from an agent, or you’ve received a contract from a publisher, or you’re taking that step to put your books up for sale as an indie author. This is your moment to shine and take on the world! But wait … let’s hit pause for a moment. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in this business, it’s that creative individuals allow our emotions to rule us sometimes. We ride the highs and lows, and with that come amazing stories and artwork. But with those emotional...

business, copyright, legal, Publishing, publishing contracts

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Including Native Americans in Writing

As writers we always hear, “Write what you know.” In light of that truth, it is important that any person writing about Native Americans know the people and the culture they are writing about. It is important to know the current situation of the Native American people one is choosing to write about. It is also important to recognize that some things cannot, or should not, be written about given the culture and traditions of a people. Who are Native Americans/First Nations/Indigenous people? In...

characterization, craft, DEI, indigenous people, Native American, research, Writing

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