Happy first day of spring, all! In an attempt to clear out some older stock, Ash Tree Media has decided to host a spring reading sale from now through April 1st. During this period, all my e-books will be 50% OFF with select retailers! In addition, all print books bought directly through this or myContinue reading “Spring Reading Sale!”
Author Archives: J. S. Allen
Marketing Matters: Book Reviews
Book reviews are one of many marketing tools available to authors and publishers. A glowing review from a recognized source can really work wonders for your book’s reputation, while a well-circulated negative review can just about ruin your chances of success. But regardless of whether a review is positive, negative, or somewhere in between, thereContinue reading “Marketing Matters: Book Reviews”
Plans for March
February was a very full month, and though I did not quite finish all I had hoped due to some unavoidable delays, I nevertheless did finish some and got very close to the rest. I cannot complain in the least. March could prove a very hectic month indeed as I work towards other goals asContinue reading “Plans for March”
Writing Readable Nonfiction
Writing nonfiction is an art form unto itself, as I mentioned in a previous post on the subject, However, while that post was concerned primarily with the fundamentals of writing nonfiction, this one is concerned with another important aspect: making sure that the nonfiction you write is actually readable.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
This one’s never been my favorite, but to all you romantics out there, have a positively lovely day!
Writing Professionally
The business side of things is an aspect that many creative types like to ignore or minimize as much as possible. And this is fine if you just want to write as a sideline or a hobby and aren’t at all interested in making a full-time career of it. But what if writing as aContinue reading “Writing Professionally”
Translating Your Work
One way to potentially expand your audience is to offer your work in more than one language. This is especially true if you have extensive distribution networks in countries and regions where a given foreign language predominates. I made a post on translating some time ago, but the emphasis of this post is how toContinue reading “Translating Your Work”
Plans for February
January was a pretty good month. Though not every goal was met, progress was nevertheless made across all fronts. For February, things should continue apace. I would like to continue my translation work, make some much-needed additions and corrections to this year’s Knights of Aralia books, and resume work on my long overdue rough draftContinue reading “Plans for February”
How to Look Professional as a Self-Published Author
Self-publishing still has quite a stigma attached to it, and not without reason. After all, it can be done by anyone who has the means and the time to put his or her work out there with a relative minimum of technical skill required. Hence, self-published books can and often do still turn out lookingContinue reading “How to Look Professional as a Self-Published Author”
Editors and Beta Readers
We all know how helpful it can be to get someone else’s opinion on our work. Sometimes our own inner eye simply isn’t enough to catch all the problems with a manuscript, be they with the story, the grammar, or something else entirely. Hence, a good editor or beta reader can be worth his weightContinue reading “Editors and Beta Readers”