FAQ
Writing
Is there a craft book you found particularly helpful for writing sapphic fiction?
There aren’t any craft books specifically for writing sapphic fiction, but a book that gives a great overview of different craft aspects is Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Rennie Browne & Dave King.
Under my legal name, I’ve also written several writers’ guides myself, including Show, Don’t Tell (the ebook is free in most countries), Point of View, and Write Great Beginnings.
Publishing
Is there a listing of people that can do the actual uploading of the book to Amazon and other sites?
In order for anyone else to upload your book to Amazon, you would have to hand them your Amazon KDP account password, which would give them access to your personal data and banking information. I personally wouldn’t feel comfortable doing that.
Plus uploading to Amazon in particular is not that hard, so paying someone to do it for you seems like a waste of money. In my opinion, you’d be better off watching a couple of tutorials and then doing it yourself.
Of course, there’s also the option to submit your manuscript to a publisher, who would then do all the uploading and admin tasks. But if you do go the indie route, my advice is to learn how to do it yourself.
What platforms are available to sell sapphic books?
The same sales platforms as for any other genre. The biggest ones are Amazon, Apple Books, Kobo, and Barnes & Noble. Scribd is also becoming more popular.
If you don’t want to create an account for each retailer and upload your books to all of them, you can go direct for Amazon (and maybe a couple of the big ones) and publish the others via a distributor such as Draft2Digital.
There’s also Bella Distribution, a sister company of publisher Bella Books. They sell ebooks or paperbacks by other sapphic publishers or indie authors in their webstore.
Marketing
What’s your number one tip for book marketing?
Start a newsletter now. Seriously. Relying on social media to reach your readers means building your castle in someone else’s sandbox. Your newsletter is your most important marketing tool and the most direct way to reach your readers.
Can you market my book to your newsletter subscribers?
I’ve given shout-outs to fellow authors’ books in my newsletter many times, but only for books I’ve actually read and enjoyed. My relationship with my readers is very important to me. If I recommend a book in my newsletter, my readers know they can trust it’s a book I honestly enjoyed.
Other
How much would it cost for you to edit my manuscript?
Unfortunately, between writing my own books, editing for Ylva, and running several big reader events & cross-promos every year, I don’t have the time to take on additional editing work. But if you have a quick writing or editing question, shoot me an email.
Have a question?
If you have a question you want to have answered or a topic you’d like me to blog about, send me an email.