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Self-Publishing

Dedicated to empowering UK authors in their self-publishing journey, this blog category covers everything from websites and resources to advice and insights on services that help you create high-quality novels.

I also emphasise the importance of proofreading to help polish your work and stand out from other self-publishing authors, ensuring your reviews never complain about your books being littered with errors.

Why you should include content warnings in your novels

Content warnings are a brilliant system for authors to preface their story with warnings about sensitive themes, scenes, and plotlines. Like warnings for TV shows and movies, content warnings for books let readers know what to expect and whether the book is right for them. Below, I explain all the reasons why you should include content warnings in your books. You might also know content warnings by another name, ‘trigger warnings’. Content warnings is a more inclusive term, encompassing things that aren’t always triggering or sensitive to everyone but could be for different readers. Trigger warnings is a term used… Read More »Why you should include content warnings in your novels

What romance writers need to know about proofreading

Self-publishing a romance novel can be tricky, especially if you’re managing the process by yourself. You’re the project manager and the author, so it’s easy to get lost in what needs to be done. So here’s what romance writers need to know about proofreading, one of the last steps in the publishing process. There are many benefits of proofreading, but if you don’t know much about it then it’s easy to forget its importance. Proofreaders work with authors not just to clear up typos but to also catch other, potentially major problems. If you’ve ever gone to buy a book… Read More »What romance writers need to know about proofreading

What to include in a fiction proofreading enquiry

When you’re looking for a proofreader for your novel, a proofreading enquiry is a valuable tool in determining the best fit for you. The information you put into an enquiry form helps proofreaders work out what you’re looking for and whether they can meet your needs. Other than availability and budget, enquiries can also show you what a proofreader is like to work with. Read more about how to make the best use out of an enquiry form and why they’re an important indicator of who to work with. What is a fiction proofreading enquiry? Online service businesses often have… Read More »What to include in a fiction proofreading enquiry

What you need to know about hiring a fantasy editor

If you’ve finished your story, you might be starting to look for a fantasy editor. Hiring an editor is a big deal for any author, and making sure you hire someone with experience in your genre is important. Here to answer some questions about editing is Aimée Hill of AJ Editorial Services, a fantasy editor who provides developmental editing, line editing, and copyediting services across all fantasy sub-genres. As a fantasy editor, is there anything you wish more fantasy writers knew about editing? Great question. I am fortunate to work with some really talented authors who know the ropes fairly… Read More »What you need to know about hiring a fantasy editor

Why your book series should use the same editors and proofreader

When you’re publishing a book series, you need to think about each individual book as well as the whole series. Part of this is considering your editorial team – the editors and proofreader that work on your book series. As with most questions, the answer on whether you should use the same editors and proofreader for your book series is: Depends. But if you value consistency – especially if your series uses its own language or has epic worldbuilding – having the same editorial team can really make a difference. Advantages of using the same editors and proofreader for your… Read More »Why your book series should use the same editors and proofreader

Affirmations for writers

We’re writers – of course we struggle to stay motivated. Using affirmations can be a great way to stay motivated and challenge imposter syndrome. I’ve used affirming statements to help me get through many situations. To help myself and others more, I’ve compiled 118 affirmations for writers. Many of us could benefit from creating self-care techniques to benefit us when writing or dealing with rejections. No matter what you write or how you want to get your writing out to readers, you might find some benefits from reading through these affirmations for writers. Not all affirmations will work for everyone.… Read More »Affirmations for writers

Why you need a professional proofreader for your novel

As a self-publishing author, you’re probably overwhelmed with everything you need to do before you can release your book. There are so many new terms to learn about. So many services you didn’t know people used, and you’re not sure what you need. So why do you need a professional proofreader? Finding a proofreader is as easy as asking in a Facebook group, but you’re actually opening yourself up to people who aren’t trained, don’t have experience, and aren’t as competent as they say. Your novel needs a professional: someone who is trained specifically in proofreading, someone who will do… Read More »Why you need a professional proofreader for your novel

Top tips for aspiring romance authors

If it’s your dream to be a romance author, you need these tips for writing, editing, and publishing a romance novel. Romance is the most popular fiction genre, with around 40 million romance books sold within a year. Self-published romance authors are emerging every day, but the demand for romance novels by publishing houses isn’t lessening. No matter whether you’ve still choosing between self-publishing and traditional publishing or not, this blog post will support your journey as an aspiring romance author. How to be a romance author You might already have experience writing and publishing, but for many romance authors… Read More »Top tips for aspiring romance authors

How to find the best proofreader for your novel

Self-publishing a novel can be really difficult, especially when it comes to finding and hiring all the individual services you need. When it comes to proofreading, you want to find the best proofreader for your novel, but where do you start? Finding a proofreader doesn’t have to be difficult, but finding the best proofreader for your novel might be daunting. You need to find someone who can provide a high quality service who you get along with and trust with your novel. To help, I’ve put together a guide on finding and hiring proofreaders, with tips for how to decide… Read More »How to find the best proofreader for your novel

What you need to know about authenticity reading

You might already be familiar with the term ‘sensitivity reading’, but maybe you’ve just come across another term: ‘authenticity reading’. Whether you’ve just read it somewhere or someone has recommended you find an authenticity reader, here’s everything you need to know about what authenticity reading is. Authenticity reading is a form of beta reading focused on helping the author feel confident in how they’ve portrayed certain characters. Authors usually seek out authenticity reading when their book needs it, to ensure accurate representation of a culture or community and to support diverse voices. If your book portrays something you have no… Read More »What you need to know about authenticity reading