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Silver Spring, MD
United States

888-577-9342

Stories To Tell is a full service book publishing company for independent authors. We provide editing, design, publishing, and marketing of fiction and non-fiction. We specialize in sophisticated, unique illustrated book design.

Stories To Tell Books BLOG

Filtering by Category: About Self-Publishing

Who Exactly Is Your Audience?

Nan Barnes

As an author, your success all depends on connecting with your audience. You’ll need to let them know you have a book of interest to them, get it into their hands, (whether it’s a purchase or a free gift), and then hope they read and “connect” with your words, in their minds and hearts. Let’s face it – not everyone out there cares to read your book. These “connections” only happen with the right audience. There are three types of audience. The audience you target will affect many of the choices you make as you publish. One the one end of the spectrum, we have large-scale commercial publishing. On the opposite end, some authors write for a very small audience, just family and friends. And then there is an ever-growing segment of the writer’s market, niche publishing. Let’s look at how these audiences place authors on different paths.
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categories About Publishing, About Self-Publishing

Be a Smart Self-Publisher

Biff Barnes

Authors who want to self-publish a book, especially those self-publishing for the first time, usually find they need some help in getting their books ready for and into the hands of their audience. Who should they turn to? Let’s look at two very different paths into print: supported self-publishing and author services.
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categories About Self-Publishing

Lessons Learned from Printing My Books

Sarah Hoggatt

As great an experience as publishing is, I learn a lot every time I go to print, lessons I put into practice with subsequent books. I thought these lessons would be for myself alone until a high school student approached me asking if I would mentor her for her senior project. She reminded me a bit of myself at that age except even brighter and more put together. So I took what I learned and shared those lessons with her. It was a gift to pass them on to such a gifted artist in her own right and her book came out beautifully. Here is some of what I told her in relation to the physical printing of books:
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categories About Publishing, About Self-Publishing

So How’s the Book Going?

Sarah Hoggatt

It’s the question so many people ask. As writers, I’m sure you know what it is. It’s the question that brings both great delight and great discomfort. It’s the question that makes us smile with pride yet also makes us suddenly shy. It’s the coaxing out of information we tend to clutch tightly to our chests. The one we are secretly longing to be asked. “So how’s the book going?” There it is. What do we say? Do we tell them what we’re writing about, what stage the book is in, what we want it to become? I’ve been asked this question recently by my editors, by the baristas at my favorite coffee shop, and by a friend while I was visiting her house. I actually love to be asked this question as it keeps me accountable to keep writing and it gives me opportunity to share about a topic I love. Here at “Stories to Tell,” we know many of you are going through the same process of writing, editing, and publishing your book so we thought it would be fun and informative if we created a blog series around the process of me putting my book together.
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categories About Publishing, About Self-Publishing, Getting Started on Your Book, The Author’s Craft

Who Should Publish My Book? (Part 1) Ingram Spark

Biff Barnes

Your book is almost ready to publish. You have lots of questions. Print? eBook? Both? How can I make sure that I get the widest possible distribution and easiest order fulfillment services? What publisher is best for my needs? In the next few posts we will look at some of the options you might consider. If your book is intended for a limited distribution to family and friends like many family histories or memoirs you’ll want what is often called private printing. (We’ll explore private printing in an upcoming post.) If you have commercial aspirations for your book you have many more issues to consider. We’ll begin by looking at some of the most popular options you may want to explore. Today we’ll explore Ingram Spark.
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categories About Publishing, About Self-Publishing

Copyrighting Your Self-Published Book

Sarah Hoggatt

Is your book legally protected from copyright infringement? Would you be able to prove your rights to your work in a court of law? Though anything you create in written or viewable form is automatically copyrighted according to United States law, such a claim will not stand up in court. To prove you own the work, you need a certificate from the Copyright office at the Library of Congress. It’s a pretty easy process to obtain a copyright certificate. You fill out an application online, pay the fee (between $35 for online registration and $85 for paper registration), then send two copies of the work to the Copyright office at the Library of Congress. It takes several months to process the application after which they send you a copyright certificate. Keep this certificate on file in case of any future legal issues. Here’s how you do it.
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categories About Publishing, About Self-Publishing

Putting Your Best Foot Forward: Professional Book Design

Sarah Hoggatt

You’re in a bookstore or at an event looking at a book and it’s so poorly designed that it’s distracting to you and you choose not to buy it. I’ve had this happen so many times that I want to write the authors and tell them about our book design services before they print their books again. Whether a book is designed by a mainstream publisher or is self-published, the design needs to look clean and professional.
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categories About Publishing, About Self-Publishing, Book Design and Book Production Technology

Why Does It Take So Long to Get a Book Into Print?

Biff Barnes

Why does it take so long to get a book into print? That’s a question a lot of first time authors ask. There are plenty of good reasons that the process takes so long, but a humorous look at how a book gets edited, designed, published, publicized, distributed and marketed is much more fun. Enjoy the video published by the Digital Marketing Team at Macmillan titled From the Typewriter to the Bookstore: A Publishing Story.
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categories About Publishing, About Self-Publishing

Another Author Solutions Rip-Off Exposed

Biff Barnes

I Googled the Miami Book Fair today to get the exhibitor application for what the New York Times described as the, “… largest and by nearly all accounts the most diverse public literary event in the United States.” But on the way to the listing for the 31st Annual Miami Book Fair International, this November 21-23, an interesting item popped up in my search: Author Solutions Takes Signing Scam to Miami Book Fair on novelist David Gaughran’s site. I hit the link. Here's what I found.
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categories About Publishing, About Self-Publishing

Looking for a Publisher? Look in the Mirror!

Biff Barnes

Are you looking for a publisher for your book? Take a moment to think about your reasons for seeking a publisher. Chances are they will include: Legitimacy and Prestige - A publisher’s imprint confers legitimacy on the book. It has been vetted by a literary agent (usually) and an acquisitions editor (always). The professional judgment of these gatekeepers confirms the quality of your book. Advance Payment – A traditional publisher gives you an advance paid against future royalties when it buys the rights to your book. Distribution and Publicity - Your publisher will handle distribution of your book. They can get your book into bookstores. The publisher’s publicity and marketing departments will get the word out about your book. They will handle advertising, schedule interviews and line up a book tour for you. Sound good? Before you sign a contract, let’s take a closer look at these benefits.
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categories About Publishing, About Self-Publishing

Important Choices for Self-Publishing Authors, Part 2

Biff Barnes

If you’re a self-publishing author, you have some important choices to make. In this blog series, we are discussing the pros and cons to help you with the most important decisions you’ll need to know about: Is self-publishing as a DIY project? Or should you hire others to help with editing, book design, publishing, distribution, publicity and marketing? Beginning authors see the “self” in self-publishing and think it must be a DIY project; that they have a long learning curve ahead to master every step of the process. That’s not always the case; in fact, almost all experienced self-publishing writers take a team approach.
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categories About Self-Publishing

Important Choices for Self-Publishing Authors, Part 1

Biff Barnes

“The indie author insurrection has become a revolution that will strip publishers of power they once took for granted.” - Mark Coker, CEO of Smashwords If you’re a self-publishing author, you have some important choices to make. Here is one of the most important decisions you’ll need to know about: Do you really want to “self-publish,” or should you use a “self-publishing company”?
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categories About Self-Publishing