How to Co-Write a Six-Book Series and Stay Friends
By: Eve Kincaid and Lily Danes | Posted on June 28, 2019
At some point in your career, you may consider the idea of writing a book or series with another author. Finding the right partner is a key element, but there are a lot of other factors to consider as well. Luckily, the co-writing powerhouse team of Eve Kincaid and Lily Danes are here to walk us through how to do it right, and not wanting to murder your writing partner by the end of it! (Hint, there may be alcohol involved) Let’s start this off with a confession. I, Eve Kincaid, volunteered to co-write an article on co-writing with my co-author, and I have no idea how to do that. (Answer: she wrote the first draft, then handed it over to me to add snarky asides vital additional information. —LD) Lily Danes and I are the co-creators of the Lost Coast Harbor series—noir-inspired contemporary romance set on the rugged Northern… Read More >
Author Spotlight Interview: Whitney Dineen
By: Hidden Gems | Posted on June 25, 2019
We’re continuing our series of Author Interviews this week by chatting to Whitney Dineen, the talented and multifaceted author of The Wilhelmina Adventures, The Mimi Chronicles and many more awesome books! With her first thriller due to hit the digital bookshelves July 1st (available now as a pre-order for 99 cents), it was great to catch up with Whitney and learn about her inspirations and ideas. HG: So, who IS Whitney Dineen? In her own words! WD: I’m a bit of conundrum really! If you asked ten different people who I am, you’d probably get ten different answers. That’s because I like to explore all sides of life. In my personal life, I’m a wife, a mom, a gardener, a baker, and kick-ass Scrabble player. As a writer, I’ve always been drawn to romantic comedy, but the voices suddenly started branching out into new directions. I’ve let them take the… Read More >
Don’t Be Afraid to Break the Rules
By: Ginger | Posted on June 21, 2019
“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.” – Pablo Picasso Times have changed, and so have the rules. Now, more than ever, it’s time to shed conventions and follow what’s best for your story. A few weeks ago, after watching the third episode of the final season of Game of Thrones, which showcased the epic Battle of Winterfell, I was struck by something. To me, the remarkable thing about that episode wasn’t the battle itself – although it literally defined the word ‘epic’ – but the fact that the wags at HBO let the episode run for a whopping 82 minutes; the longest episode in the series’ history. Why is this remarkable? Because it shows how much the carefully regimented face of entertainment has changed over the past decade. Prior to streaming content from YouTube, Netflix and Amazon Prime, the only place… Read More >
We Have ‘Hidden Gems’ from Every Genre!
By: Hidden Gems | Posted on June 18, 2019
When you become a subscriber to Hidden Gems, you can select any of over 15 different genres to receive FREE books from. All the most popular genres in publishing are represented, of course – like romance, thrillers, mystery and science fiction. However, we also have less dominant genres including self-help, faith and spirituality and even cookbooks! Below are some recent ‘Hidden Gems’ that our subscribers ranked highly – these ones selected from genres that people don’t automatically think of. We’re really proud to be able to partner with and showcase authors of almost any type of book – bring as much variety as possible to our readers! Faith & Spirituality Books on faith and spirituality – from Christian to new-age spirituality – might not own a huge market share of the publishing industry, but they remain one of the most solid performers. While The Association of American Publishers (AAP) doesn’t… Read More >
Don’t Get Lost in Translation
By: Désirée Nordlund | Posted on June 14, 2019
Many authors would agree that it’s hard enough to write in the language you grew up speaking, let alone trying to do so in a second language that you learned later in life. And if your native language happens to be English, you’d probably wonder why you’d ever bother trying in the first place. But for writers whose native language is anything else, there are some definite benefits to writing and publishing in English – and some very obvious obstacles as well. Désirée Nordlund is an author who has taken this challenge head on, and we’re thrilled that she’s sharing tips and encouragement to other writers considering doing the same thing. I am one of many authors who write in English though it is not my native language. I am also one of many who gets this choice questioned — a lot. Why don’t you write in your native language? Because… Read More >
Five Terrific LGBT Books to Celebrate Pride Month
By: Hidden Gems | Posted on June 11, 2019
To commemorate the famous “Stonewall Riots”, which triggered the push for equality in June 1969, the month of June is celebrated as LGBT Pride Month. To mark this celebration, we’ve put together a list of some fantastic LGBT books that put gay, lesbian or non-hetero-normative relationships front and center. The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee With the Montague Siblings series, author Mackenzi Lee introduced us all to what Teen Vogue called “the queer teen historical you didn’t know was missing from your life.” The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue is the first book in the series, and follows young nobleman Henry “Monty” Montague as he embarks on the traditional 18th century “grand tour” of Europe; as eager to explore his burgeoning bisexuality as the cathedrals and museums of Paris and Rome. In her 5-star review, Azia writes: “This book is undoubtedly one of the most humorous… Read More >
The Hidden Gems Amazon Keyword Organizer
By: Craig | Posted on June 7, 2019
You can have the greatest cover and blurb around, but if readers searching for something new to read can’t find your book in the first place, it won’t matter. That’s why most authors spend a lot of their marketing time researching the best keywords for their book or genre, and why many of them are very secretive about which ones they use. But while there are lots of different tools and articles written about picking keywords and the rules around which words you should or shouldn’t use, there doesn’t seem to be a lot out there for helping you add your list of keywords into Amazon in the most efficient way possible. Until now. The Problem Amazon’s KDP provides very little in the way of instruction for self-publishers, We’ve recently discussed the deficiencies in Amazon’s KDP blurb field and our solution for it, but it turns out that their keyword… Read More >
6 Book-ish Summer/Holiday Activities for Kids
By: Kate Stead | Posted on June 4, 2019
Aaah… school holidays and summer vacation. Sometimes fabulous, sometimes horrible. Like many parents, Chris and Kate Stead, founders of the children’s publishing company Old Mate Media, have a love/hate relationship with school breaks. Like most of us, they struggle with the never-ending challenge of finding inexpensive and fun activities to do with the kids. The good news is, they’ve discovered some fabulous book related options to share with us. Here are six bookish activities that Kate has put together for you to do with the young ones during school holidays or when they’re home in the summer. 1: Visit the Library I can hear you all groaning. This seems so obvious that it’s barely worth including. But when did you actually last visit the library with your kids? Our children love going to the library and often they will run school holiday specific activities for kids. If they don’t have… Read More >
