Attention U.S. authors: U.S. Supreme Court confirms that you must register a copyright before filing suit for infringement
It’s a question that I see posed frequently among online author groups (especially by those authors based in the United States). Should I register the books I write with the U.S. Copyright Office? To be clear, whenever you create a copyrightable work (such as writing a book), you have a protectable copyright, without needing to […]
Want to Sell your Books AND Keep your Sales Data? Here’s how to set up your Online Shop.
You may feel discouraged when you think about setting up an online shop to sell your books. Honestly, it does not have to be that complicated. Why set up an online shop? If you sell your eBooks via Amazon or Nookpress, and/or sell your print books via Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing, you know that those […]
How to get permission to use song lyrics in your books
If you have ever wondered how to request permission to use song lyrics in your fiction and nonfiction books, then this blog post is for you. First, nothing in this post constitutes legal advice. Generally speaking, an author does not need to request permission to use the title of a song in his/her work. However, […]
Putting Yourself Out There: Social Media Tools for Authors
July 7, 2017 – Alexandria, VA New independent authors are frequently overwhelmed by all the options for marketing their books. I certainly was, and still am. Here’s a list of the big-ticket items, i.e. the social media that I consider worthwhile for promotion purposes. This list is by no means all-inclusive. Here’s one big caveat: […]
I don’t have time to write! Yes, you do.
July 7, 2017 – Alexandria, VA People are always asking me, how do you find time to write, with a full-time job? My answer: It’s like anything. If it brings you joy, and you want it badly enough, you will do it. It also helps that I hate cleaning my house (I contract out for […]
Baptism by Fire: Self-publishing checklist
***Disclaimer: Nothing in this blog post, or on this blog, constitutes legal advice*** June 5, 2017 – Alexandria, VA For the first novel I self-published, I learned the self-publishing process as I went along. It was truly baptism by fire. Picture it: You have completed a draft manuscript, finished rewrites, and proofread for grammar. What’s […]