Barb Drozdowich

Blogging for Authors by Barb Drozdowich is part of the Building Blocks series for writers. As the title suggests, this book focuses on blogging. Among the topics covered are why authors should bother blogging, the different types of platforms offered, finding topics, and extra tools and tricks for blogging. There are several links to tutorial videos. Though it's from a few years ago, the practical information is still quite valuable. Some of the technical aspects of the various platforms, and support tools may be dated now. I didn't notice any but I only use wordpress.org, and none of the support tools. A few I did check out, and found tablet apps for them. I ended up not using any, but I've already been established as a blogger, and content with everything as I currently have it. This is a great resource for getting started!

***Many thanks to the Netgalley & the author for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.… (mehr)

*I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review. I got no compensation and I write this book review willingly. A big thanks to Barb Drozdowich and NetGalley!*



Introduction:

I'm a huge fan of self-publishing and I've read multiple books on the topic. Plus, I already had a few books by Barb Drozdowich about writing and blogging.

But the real deal with *The Author’s Guide to Self-Publishing for Canadians* is that it covers an area that no one explored previously: the Canadian self-publishing process! Being a Canadian, I had still many questions after reading other books about this topic from the US and UK. At last someone knowledgeable tackled this topic for my country!

There was no way I wouldn't read it. So, of course, I did.

And its information was all I needed for my self-publishing endeavour.

Here we go with the review!



The Blurb:

From editing and finding free ISBNs to book structure and sales, this self-publishing guide for Canadians shows you the right way to go! For those of you who are uncertain about how to proceed with self-publishing your book, this author's guide contains all relevant information and answers to your questions when it comes publishing in Canada.

The Positive Sides:

Starting right off the bat, there's an easy introduction in the topic of this author's guide. Plus, her chapters are short but loaded with information (I'm sure the pages are bursting!) and are in quite a logical order.

But what about the writing itself? Well, her writing is good, straight-forward and even kind, verging on friendly. She gives us clear and precise, almost step-by-step instructions and information-I can't stress enough how helpful and reassuring that is! And with all the content she put in, there's no wonder she knows what she's talking about! But, I guess, from self-publishing so many well-appreciated how-to books, you have to master the field, right?

As for the content itself, it ranges from editing to book structure interspersed with so much more. The chapters might be short, but I never read one and been disappointed! One of the two major points I take out from this is the eye-opening tip about ISBNs for Canadian and general process (you can get one free, legally, no joke!). So, instead of purchasing one in those US or UK self-publishing help businesses, buy this book and you'll save the price of your ISBN. Amazing! The other major point is the book structure. Please, hear me out. Miss Drozdowich makes us really look at a book, its content, what are the inner pages like both in paper and ebook formats, what it must have, and so on. It was enlightening AND fun because she tells you to the examination yourself. She encourages such a process. There's also a "bonus" (I consider it so): the author explains concepts and the jobs (such as editor, formatter,...) and tells you exactly why you need them to work on your book. That's great and will make you think twice about ditching one to the curb, figuring you don't need them.

Lastly, it's an effing amazing idea to write such an author's self-publishing guide for Canadians! With all those tips and nooks and crannies (such as the free ISBNs!), this book is invaluable for us. It was high-time someone wrote this guide for Canada amidst all those self-publishing guides from the US and UK (don't get me wrong: I'm grateful they exist, but some things in them that are not relevant to us). We needed our own version and didn't even know!

Well-played, Miss Drozdowich!

The Negative Sides:

Err, I considered striking this section since I found NO negative side, but why mess with a good structure, right? ;)

In Conclusion:

If you're considering self-publishing (even just a tad!) and live in Canada, this is the book for you. It's jam-packed with juicy information you won't find elsewhere for our specific country. Plus, she covers the most important areas of self-publishing and gives you the information in a clear-cut but helpful manner. Frankly? I give The Author's Guide to Self-Publishing for Canadians a rating of 5 stars out of 5 for how helpful I've found it because, yes, I'm going to self-publish my first book. Thank the world she wrote this book, or I'd have (uselessly) paid for an ISBN and missed out on great points such as how important other publishing jobs are to the well-being of my book.

Read this book. You can thank me and the author later.… (mehr)

Barb Drozdowich tells she she knows why things work in self-publishing and then shows her vast understanding of the process as she lays out the whole range of these things in simple demos. She actually calls it “author-directed publishing” and I find that more accurate and more encouraging. As a beginner, this is the book I’ve been waiting for! With her tech background and deep experience, Barb has given us a dense and complete manual we can really use if we are babes in the publishing and technology woods. I love the homework, given so we can look at books and see how things are done and get a picture of how we want them to work for our own self-published book. Want background on your publishing project in the big picture? You got it. Want a roadmap/flowchart of publishing YOUR book? You got it. Need help with the formatting, prepping the manuscript, structure details, tech explanations of steps in the publishing of your book? You’ll find it all here, with clear explanations that are as relaxed and helpful as if they came from a friend in a chat over coffee. What about book retailers? Barb’s got you covered. Strategies for getting your book sold? You’ll find them here. I love the lesser-known things we can do for our Kindle e-books, like using the X-ray for Authors feature, which I welcome as a reader. Barb’s caveats on self-publishing services are gold. The Glossary is my new friend as I begin to learn the jargon of the publishing world. The list of Distributors, File Requirements, Cover Requirements, and Editor’s Roles are welcome! The resources, articles for learning more, and list of YouTube videos on how do do all the technology required to produce a self-published book all add more value. I now feel confident heading into the self-publishing world with Barb’s manual in my hand.… (mehr)

A book devoted to book blogging reviewed on a book blog sounds like inversion, right? Barb Drozdowich experimented in a first edition of The Book Blogger Platform with technical details, screenshots, but found better ways to convey her insights, practical tips and helpful guidance for novice and advanced book lovers spreading their reviews through a blog.

In this second edition technical details and instructions are pushed to a series of over 20 Youtube videos. The booklet itself concentrates on setting up a weblog through primarily Blogger or WordPress, getting (advanced) review copies for free from Netgalley and Edelweiss, and cross-posting your reviews to e.g. Amazon, Goodreads, and Librarything, as well as social media platforms. Barb is honest about (limited possibilities for) making money from your blog, the amount of time it takes to gather your books, actually reading, writing a review and ensure its publication and spread, backing up your blog's content.

The book can be used as a guideline to set up your blog, as well as a refresher for veteran book bloggers like me. Topics like branding, the use of images and hotlinks, blog tours, as well as your personal review policy, various ways to review and promote books, advertising, and finding fellow book bloggers are addressed. Drozdowich did a tremendous job to have lots of up to date content in her book to help you out, blogging with confidence about your passion: books.… (mehr)