TCK Publishing Videos

Have you ever wondered why so many authors turn to blogging ? They already have published works. Think of George R.R. Martin, who still maintains his LiveJournal blog… it’s conveniently named Not A Blog . Why would George R.R. Martin waste time on blogging? The readers are eagerly waiting for each new book he publishes. He doesn’t need much marketing, since he’s already established himself as a great writer. Turns out, there are many reasons for writers to blog. Perhaps most importantly, the blog connects them with their readers in a direct, immediate way that really resonates. Oh, you’re still not a published author? Even better! You can catch the moment and start blogging before you start writing a novel. That’s what I did, and it turned out to be an awesome strategy that improved my skills for writing fiction. Benefits of Blogging before Writing a Novel When I started working on my blog, many of my friends had the impression that I was wasting my time. “What about that book yo...

At TCK Publishing, we support authors – no matter how you choose to publish, we think what you do is amazing and we want to celebrate all you’ve accomplished in writing a book! We also support readers – readers are why any of us in the publishing industry do what we do: we’re looking to entertain, inform, and connect with people all over the world just like you. So it only made sense that our book awards program would bring together indie authors and devoted readers as the  2017 Readers Choice Awards . Indie and self-published authors submitted their best work in a range of categories, and then the readers decided who would win! Nearly 1,200 authors entered their work, and thousands of readers worldwide voted on their favorites. And now we’re pleased to announce the lineup of winners for the 2017 edition of the awards! 2017 Readers Choice Grand Prize Winner We’re pleased to announce that the Grand Prize winner of the 2017 TCK Publishing Readers Choice Awards is… A Spot ...

Jesper Schmidt is a fantasy novelist and the author of Twitter for Authors . He’s here to talk about his journey as an author, and how he used Twitter to gather an audience of raving fan readers from all over the world. Jesper always thought in the back of his mind that when he retired, he’d write a book. But on one of his annual family vacations to Finland, Jesper had an insight that changed his life. He asked himself: “Why do we have to wait to do the things we want to do? ” The next morning, he began writing his first book. Jesper has always loved fantasy. There was never a question of what genre he would choose to publish in. He’s currently working on his third book in a fantasy trilogy now. “ 80% of people want to write a book and never do. Just do it if you want to do it! ” — Jesper Schmidt Jesper’s Journey to Successful Novelist After Jesper’s flash of insight, he began writing his first book immediately—literally the next day. It took him six months to write 50,000 w...

Watch on YouTube here: Book Marketing Training Q&A With Tom Corson-Knowles Via https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcZImr64sN4bR4BB_JA82vg/videos

You love writing. Ever since you were young, you’ve spent your free time writing poems and you’d always look forward to doing writing assignments in school, especially essays. You consider this one of your greatest skills, and whenever you’re writing, you’re feel that you’re in your element. Writing is your first love and you to continue to write in your profession—that’s basically the reason why you ended up as a journalist, blogger, or author. You’re content with your job because you get to do what you really love. But sometimes, even when we love what we do…it can be a grind. That’s why they call it “work,” after all. Say, for instance, that you’re a freelance writer. You’ve been assigned to write a story on how the elderly spend their leisure time. Yawn! You took one look at the assignment and figured it was going to be a slog because you’re not interested in shuffleboard, much less whatever else the elderly do. This happens more than you’d think, no matter what you write fo...

James Blatch is a former BBC defense reporter. He reported on the UK military from Kuwait, the Arctic Circle, and during the Kosovo conflict in 1999, among many other crazy war zones and places. Today he is the director of The Self-Publishing Formula Course . He’s an online course provider for independent authors. He also cohosts the weekly SPF podcast . James took the lazy way into journalism. He did nothing to build a professional career until about the age of 25. He started by going into computers. In the late 80s, you didn’t need any qualifications to go into computers. But James realized quickly that he hated the field. Pursuing His Dream At some point in his 20s, he had a moment where he realized he wanted to achieve different things in life—he wanted to achieve his childhood dreams. One of those dreams was to work for the BBC. He started knocking on doors and eventually convinced someone to let him make tea for the sports coverage team on the weekends. Then he started read...

When I talk with people who want to be freelancers, I get asked many, many (MANY!) questions. One of the most common is: How much should I charge? When I talk with people who want to hire me as a freelancer, I get asked many, many (MANY!) questions. One of the most common is: How much do you charge? The answer to both questions is more complicated than you might think. Let’s talk a bit about what the going rates are, how you can set your own rates, how to negotiate your pay, and some ways to increase your rates as you advance in your career. But first, the most important thing: Get Paid by the Job Always quote your prices based on a project rate. If you’re a graphic designer, that means setting one rate for the full logo design project, booklet, or other task. If you’re a writer or editor, that means charging by the word. Sometimes this means an actual per-word rate. Other times it means bidding on a job by estimating the final number of words and then multiplying that est...

Editors are busy, time-constrained professionals who read all day long. With only so many hours in the day, your editor wants to focus on helping you create amazing story arcs and deep, engaging characters. She does not want to spend her valuable time fixing your spelling, grammar, weak words, and awkward sentence constructions. Your editor—whether a freelancer you’ve hired or the publishing house acquisitions editor you’re asking to publish your book—expects to see a certain level of polish. Unless you want to see the veins stand out on her neck, fix these 7 common issues before you submit your manuscript. 1. Cut the Adverbs Have you heard these wise words before? “The road to hell is paved with adverbs.” — Stephen King “An adverb modifies a verb, and nine times out of ten? If you need to modify the verb? It’s because you’re using the wrong verb.” — Max Adams “Cross out as many adjectives and adverbs as you can.” — Anton Chekhov “Death to all modifiers, he declare...

Your manuscript is complete. You’ve pored over rough drafts. You’ve put in the late nights, writing well into the early hours of the morning. You’ve solicited feedback from anyone offering a critical eye, and you’ve hammered every comma, dash, and period into place. Now comes the real work: pitching your book to prospective literary agents, editors, and publishers. What’s an Elevator Pitch? Enter the elevator pitch—a brief promotion that delivers the brass tacks of an investment opportunity in the span of a few seconds. The elevator pitch is an invaluable marketing device that’s found a home in the publishing industry, where brevity is valued currency, and it functions on multiple levels, succinctly and effectively communicating the crux of your book. It’s never too early to start honing your book’s marketing strategy, and by mastering the theory and methodology behind composing a strong elevator pitch, you’ll be able to deftly answer that all-important question: “So what’s y...

Jamie Davis is the author of more than a dozen novels including Accidental Thief . He’s also a registered nurse, a nationally recognized medical educator, and host of The Nursing Show . How Jamie Became a Fiction Writer Jamie got started as a novelist on a dare. He’s been a nurse and a medical educator for quite some time and has several nonfiction books available. In 2014, a friend of his dared him to write a novel for NaNoWriMo . He finished his novel during November and then it sat on the file for eight months. Writing that first fiction novel stoked a creative fire in Jamie. He’s always considered himself a very creative person, and writing fiction gave him a different creative outlet than his nonfiction books or his podcast business. He decided to release what would become the first book in his Extreme Medical Services series. It was very well received by listeners in Jamie’s podcast community, as well as fans of the urban fantasy genre. The Extreme Medical Services series...