#publishing tips

✨do you have a book coming out soon?

🌟do you want help promoting it?

✨look no further! I am offering to interview authors on my YouTube channel about their books! I will also crosspost some clips from the interviews to my other social media platforms for even more reach.

🌟How it will work:

You give me an ARC or your book to read

I’ll come up with questions and give you time in advance to come up with your answers

We’ll schedule and film the interview

It’ll go up around the time of your book’s release

I’ll also leave an ARC review if you want me to!

✨Requirements:

That your book is being published soon (within the next few months, let's say) it has been published in the past month

This is a loose suggestion, not a requirement, but I would prefer to cover books in the scifi/fantasy genres.

🌟That's it! It's just that simple! I'm doing this because I want to uplift other authors, engage with my community, build new networks of authors, and just generally be able to help.

Marketing as an author can feel so isolating, so overwhelming, and so impossible. I'm here to make it easier and more fun to get your book in front of new eyes.

✨If you’re interested, please email [email protected] and we'll go from there!

especially if you're an indie author, I would love to have you!

Rejection is part of the process for every writer who submits their work to publisher and agents, and most of the time the reasons for it are completely out of your hands.

An agent might already have a similar manuscript, might not have room in their catalogue, or might just not publish the kind of thing you're writing. That's not a verdict on your work, just a reality of the industry.

Well, since a few people said they were interested and/or that posting about it on here occasionally was a decent idea, here we go!

I'm MC Calvi, a freelance editor specializing in self-help, psychology, spirituality, paganism, workbooks, and LGBTQ books.

You can find out more about me at my website, where I also offer free twenty-minute book/publishing consultations, in addition to regular editing services.

I am also now offering some pay-what-you-can resources on my website and on Gumroad. I'm committed to offering pay-what-you-can resources because the odds are already so stacked against marginalized authors, and publishing shouldn't be pay to win.

I have two new booklets I'm actually super happy with! They both draw on my eight years of experience in the publishing industry to give authors a leg up.

eek! i won’t respond to that one but i took a screenshot of your post :3

aaaaahhhh lots of amazing advice & help but lowkey i’m scared lmfao. that’s also a lot of work & i’m terrified they’d be like “nah” & i’m like “okay” & never write again (that is unfortunately my thought process; a professor in college when i was a freshman told me my writing was terrible & i cried & i didn’t write for quite literal years because of that).

one day i’ll get over it & do just that. my problem is i over explain/write too much. i talk about it a lot but it’s because it’s my primary project: the damn fic on ao3 is at almost 700k words & i’m not done with it so i’d have to learn how to… not do that (may or may not be why i accept mini fics so often to train myself not to over write).

The Case Study:

I will be using Shawnstown as a case study to show writing processes, publishing tips and general writing bits and pieces that other people may find useful.

The best way to do that is by running a commentary as I go and documenting the process.

Here's what we have so far:

How To Start A Series

Plotting A Series And How It Connects To Future Publishing Stratergy

How To Write a Compelling First Chapter

Reader Demographics

The Importance of Research In Your Work

Research Case Study

5 Mistakes I Made While Writing A Ten Book Series

Hey friends. I’m in the middle of cleaning the house so I’ll get to any mentions later, but I just checked my email and wanted to pop in with a heads-up.

I received this message today (8.27) offering a “podcast and publicity series” and asking me to pay a small registration fee. I wrote Undercover Desire many years ago, but my author-spidey sense went full-on alarm.

I do not pay to be published or “featured,” and neither should you unless you absolutely know the company and service are legitimate and you want to buy advertising.

Below is the email I received verbatim. I’m posting it so you can spot the same red flags if one ever lands in your inbox:

Dear Nicole, I hope this message finds you well. My name is Allison McMahon, and I am the Publicity Coordinator at Smith Publicity, Inc. I recently came across your work, particularly “Undercover Desire,” and was truly impressed by your ability to weave complex narratives around trust, trauma, and the pursuit of truth. I would like to extend a warm invitation for you to join our podcast and publicity series. Our platform is dedicated to highlighting talented authors like yourself, providing a unique space to share your journey, insights, and the inspiration behind your writing. Our goal is not only to celebrate your work but also to help you reach new readers through ongoing publicity efforts. I am delighted to inform you that the campaign fee for this series has already been covered. The only cost on your end would be a small registration fee, making this a fantastic opportunity to gain exposure without any significant financial commitment. If you’re interested in joining us and sharing your story with our audience, I’d love to hear from you. Please feel free to reply to this email, and I will provide further details and next steps. Thank you for considering this opportunity. I look forward to the possibility of collaborating with you and showcasing your remarkable work. They then signed with their name, publicity compnay, phone number, website to publicity company, a gmail account that had a mismatched name (signed Allision & gmail Alison), and city.

Why this raised red flags (so you can spot them fast)

They ask you to pay a fee to be featured. Legitimate interviews, reviews, or guest spots generally don’t require the author to pay a “registration fee.” That’s classic vanity or pay-for-exposure behavior.

Vague promises. “Reach new readers” and “ongoing publicity efforts” with no measurable specifics (audience numbers, show names, past episodes). That’s marketing fluff.

Email mismatch and personal Gmail. The sign-off name and the contact email are spelled differently. A professional PR firm will normally use a company domain email, not a Gmail address.

Flattery instead of specifics. Generic praise that could apply to many books. They didn’t reference specific scenes or lines from your book, which is what a real reader or publicist would do.

Push to click links or call a phone number. Those can be used to harvest more info or to rush you into paying. Don’t click unless you verify first.

“Fee already covered” + small registration fee. That line is engineered to reduce your resistance: “we’ve done this, just a tiny cost to you.” That’s a manipulation tactic.

What to do if you get messages like this

Don’t pay anything. Don’t click links. Don’t give bank or personal info.

Verify the company independently. Go to an official website (typed, not via the link they sent), look for verified contact emails, check for reputable reviews, and check on author forums or Writer Beware-type resources. I love to use: https://writerbeware.blog/ even if I'm not in the publishing game anymore.

Search the sender’s name + “scam” or company + “reviews.” Writers often report shady operators. A quick forum search can save you trouble.

Call the company number from the official website (not the number they sent) and ask to verify. Or email an address found on the company’s official domain.

Ask for specifics: Which podcast? Link to previous episodes? Who’s the host? What exactly does the “registration fee” pay for and why is it necessary? If they can’t answer clearly, walk away.

Ask for written contract and deliverables. If you’re ever considering paying for promotional services, demand a clear contract that lists exactly what they’ll do (ads, distribution, guaranteed placements, metrics) and a refund clause.

Use the community. Ask in author groups. Absolute Write, Goodreads groups, and Tumblr mutuals (who have published and are in the process of publishing) are good places to check before sending money.

Hey I'm so sorry for my delayed response/if I am too late! I really wanted to do all my asks justice and then I pressure myself into not answering at all😥

Publishing on Amazon

First I would make sure your book has been fully edited (including a line edit, the hardest part for me).

I made my book covers using canva. You might have to import your own images but canva is great for layout ideas and ease of use, and I think the results are great too.

Cover tips: use color to match the mood of your book. Focus on one key symbol or theme to represent in the cover (don't try to do everything). Pick an existing layout as a reference and then make yours however you want. Font is important to match the overarching feeling of your book too, it's the first thing they'll read.

Format your book (again try to represent the overall feeling of your book while keeping the main text easy to read, if in doubt stick to what everyone else does).

You download Amazon's app on your computer to turn it into an amazon file (I forgot what they're called) or you can convert your file into a word or epub file.

It's helpful to create a table of contents that links (for the kindle version) to the chapters, and a regular table of contents for your hard copy.

Number pages if you'd like. This seems to be standard practice and something expected, so I would do it

Make your book blurb---here are my tips for that: 3 sections: 1: A one-sentence overarching vibe/your story's starting point like "A boy in a war-torn post-apocalyptic Seattle becomes a gang leader at eleven." 2: A three-sentence plot summary (don't give away the ending). 3: A one-sentence "what's going to happen now?" Hook. It can be longer especially if your books are wordier---this will attract the right audience, if your writing style in the blurb matches your writing style in the book.

Note on the blurb! If you're a whump writer, you want to attract whump lovers, so don't be shy about mentioning all the agony. (Not that you should make it sound like the main plot, but it may be helpful to whump lovers and push away those that will give your book a 1-star review because it was more painful than they like.)

Pricing: I don't know how to do this