tools of the trade
Tips, Software, Tricks of the Trade, Insider Secrets: Stuff to make your life as an author easier!
Copyright Registration
The purpose of copyright registration is to place on record a verifiable account of the date and content of the work in question, so that in the event of a legal claim, or case of infringement or plagiarism, the copyright owner can produce a copy of the work from an official government source. Writing is a business, before you place it out into the public domain, protect your work with a small copyright investment.
Bowker ISBN
The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a unique 10 or 13 digit numeric commercial book identifier publishers purchase to identify separate editions and variations of a books, eBooks, tapes, and CD’s. The ISBN numbering system is used worldwide by publishers, booksellers and libraries for ordering, listing and stock control activities. Many online publishers offer ISBNs for free but you may encounter issues later if you want to reprint, republish or sell your work (movie, audio, etc.) as the ISBN is owned by the publisher. They are expensive, but as the author you want to always retain your rights.
Kindle Direct Publishing
Today, authors no longer have to partner with big publishing companies to have their own books published. Anyone can publish their books and market them all over the world with a little investment. The Internet, through companies like Amazon.com, gives authors the ability to self-publish and distribute their print-on-demand or e-books.
Hootsuite
Hootsuite is a one-stop social media management platform, perfect for authors with limited time and resources who are serious about visibility, branding and building their network of readers. The system’s user interface takes the form of a dashboard, and supports social network integrations for Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Google+ and YouTube.
Animoto
Animoto is a cloud-based video creation service that produces video from photos, video clips, and music into video slideshows and customized web-based presentations. Authors can create their own video trailer for a fraction of the cost.