Author: Brenda Poulos

A Friendly Reminder for Authors

Posted on by Brenda Poulos
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I am in the midst of completing my taxes. This blog post is just a friendly reminder that authors need to have an LLC (in my opinion) and complete tax forms for your business each year. Be sure if you don’t have one to at least read all the information on the internet about them so you can make a wise decision.

I’m sure you’ll agree that your taxes are a lot easier to do, if you keep records of your expenditures. The easiest way to do this is to have a separate business credit card that you don’t use for anything else. That way, you’ll have a running record of every purchase. Also get a separate checking account in the business name so all of your statements will show your writing/publishing direct deposits and payments to your credit card.

Your yearly credit card fee, as well as checks purchased are deductible in certain cases. Check out for yourself.

Still keep all of your receipts from things purchased with cash (which should be rare).

If you have a dedicated home office, measure it. Your tax person will be able to calculate how much of it will be tax deductible, along with a percentage of your heating, cooling, and electricity.

The point of all this is to get those taxes out of the way so you can devote your time to something more enjoyable—like writing!!!

Disclaimer: I am not a tax consultant, so run everything I’ve said by your own tax person.

Reach for the Stars

Posted on by Brenda Poulos
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Do you remember coming home from school with a tiny foil star for exemplary behavior or academic accomplishment?

The idea of receiving stars for “the remarkable” carries on to present day when they are even earned on the internet by people, products, vacations, songs, photographs, inventions, and so on.

We’re all aware of what they mean. We appreciate—even strive to—“earn” them.

No one is more aware of this concept than authors. Stars from reviewers translate into public awareness of them and their books, which ultimately mean sales.

We put forth our best everyday, keenly aware that our final product will be judged by our readers. Our end goal is a product worthy of those priceless five-star reviews. 

“New” Trends From the Past

Posted on by Brenda Poulos
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Over lunch, a friend asked me if there were any new trends in writing for 2025. 

Honestly? I hadn’t checked. However, when I got home, I searched the internet.

I didn’t find anything new, but I found three trends from years past that are getting stronger—recommended more and more often.

1) Podcasts– customers still like that “personal” touch!

      2) Updating your author bios, personal anecdotes, and your unique brand.

      3) Write blogs based on first-hand knowledge, rather than what you have gained from the internet or someone else (unless from an interview with a famous person!)

           

      Do You Really Need Them All?

      Posted on by Brenda Poulos
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      There are four types of book reviews—and reviewers. It is suggested that authors benefit from garnering reviews from all of them.

      Peer reviews:These are reviews by another author who writes in the same genre. If possible, these would be from a more seasoned and well-known author than yourself. 

      Editorial reviews: These mostly focus on grammar, spelling, plot, structure, formatting, POV, etc. by an editing professional.

      Manuscript reviews: These are overviews to help the author evaluate his/er own writing. They include those similar to the editorial review, but also delve into story consistency, character development, dialogue issues, pacing, and more.

      Customer reviews:  These are from individual readers. Make it easy for consumers to post these by providing links to social media, Amazon, and so on.

      Remember Me

      Posted on by Brenda Poulos

      It’s two days past the official Valentine’s Day, but it’s not too late to put your Romance Novel on your Facebook page. Most women—and even a growing number of men—are reading love stories as one way to find encouragement, hope, and relieve the stress of everyday life.. 

      Here’s my friend, Mia’s, book cover—and its Amazon link. Consider reading it yourself, as well as sending it to your friends. It’shttps://www.amazon.com/Remember-Me-Marigold-Mia-Michaels-ebook/dp/B0DP5L58SD/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3GPOU9W0X70TI&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.zYBdJYfWJGrvCOpeXExywkUlY2YBnX_fdMcwBBLvWeXGjHj071QN20LucGBJIEps.k94iT6aG5r7y3uxfnHunmj4K6ZlGmKuYWvGb40P77hw&dib_tag=se&keywords=Remember+Me:+A+Sonnet+for+Marigold&qid=1739555530&s=books&sprefix=remember+me+a+sonnet+for+marigold,stripbooks,151&sr=1-1

      It’s a real pager-turner. A mixture of romance and suspense!

      Update

      Posted on by Brenda Poulos
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      Have you been thinking of updating one of your books? 

      If you’d like to change your book’s details (contributors, categories, or description), manuscript, cover, or territory and publishing rights) here’s how to do it: 

      Click on the ellipsis button next to your book on your bookshelf. Choose EDIT BOOK DETAILS, then SAVE AND CONTINUE. 

      At the bottom of the Pricing page, click PUBLISH. Amazon will review your book to ensure it still meets their guidelines for quality/standards.

      Some changes can be made directly to the published version on your bookshelf. Other changes require you to publish a new edition of your book.

      Certain features are “locked” and cannot be updated until you publish the book as a new title (a new edition) from your KDP Bookshelf.  They are: language, title, subtitle, edition, primary author, digital rights management.

      Unpublished Your Book

      Posted on by Brenda Poulos
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      Last week we concluded that books without an assigned ISBN and have never been published can be deleted from an author’s KDP bookshelf.

      If a book has been published, it can be unpublished, but it cannot be removed from the KDP bookshelf.

      Authors can do this by clicking UNPUBLISH under the ellipsis button. Once done, it will no longer be listed for sale.

      It WILL remain on the author’s bookshelf, unless you archive it using the same ellipsis button, but selecting ARCHIVE TITLE instead. (And, yes, you can “unarchive” in the same manner.)

      Next week, I’ll tackle the subject of updating books.

      Deleting a Book From Your Bookshelf

      Posted on by Brenda Poulos
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      From time to time, authors may want to delete a book from their KDP bookshelf.

      It is an easy process IF it meets the following requirements:  If it is in DRAFT status, has never been published and has never been assigned an ISBN.

      Directions: Go to your Bookshelf, click the ellipsis button next to the book, then click Delete Book.

      However, take a minute to make sure you want to delete it because once you do, you won’t ever be able to recover it. 

      But what about books that have been published? Can they be deleted?

      I’ll cover that next week…

      Take A Peek

      Posted on by Brenda Poulos
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      I recently published another book. I looked at my book’s listing by typing its title in the AMAZON BOOKS search bar. However, I found that the LOOK INSIDE feature had not yet been activated.

      This feature should be showing up online from 7-10 days after a book is published.

      I later discovered it wasn’t that my feature had not yet been activated–Amazon had changed the feature. Now, there is a READ SAMPLE button below the book’s cover image, allowing potential buyers to click and receive a sample to read.

      That’s really all that has changed.

      So, authors, don’t be disappointed if you don’t see the cute LOOK INSIDE icon. It’s simply a change of wording. 

      This is a great feature, when you think about it. READING SAMPLES allow readers to add the book to their cart or use 1-click to purchase instantly. They feel more comfortable ordering after “sampling”, discovering if it is a book they will truly like.

      Note: Some features/pages aren’t available (or only available in limited amounts) unless the customer is logged into their account and/or have made a prior purchase. 

      Authors need to be aware that this feature is NOT available for books with no ISBN, the sample cannot be adjusted, and specific pages cannot be designated to be “hidden” from view.

      This is important to know. A friend of mine had pages entitled “Dear Reader”, Dedication, and so on at the beginning of her book. Because these took up about 8-10 pages, customers only saw those pages—and not any real story content. Authors may need to adjust the front matter in their books accordingly so customers can receive a meaningful sampling of their writing.

      Unlike in previous years, Amazon now automatically activates the reading sample feature for authors. Less work for us!!

      The Read Sample button is only available for e-books when using a mobile device  AND, it is not available for print books on mobile phones. 

      Reading Trends for Writers

      Posted on by Brenda Poulos
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      Understanding book sales is important for authors and publishers.

      All of my books have been fictional. Each based on ideas that interest me at the time.

      However, gurus are suggesting authors take a scientific approach to choosing our topics and genres.

      With another book published—and starting to write yet another—I set out to garner information on trends among American readers. 

      Recents surveys show that nearly half of Americans polled haven’t read any books in more than a year!

      So then, let’s focus our attention on the other half—the readers.

      I was surprised to learn that PRINT BOOKS continue to be the most popular format. E-books rank next; then audiobooks. 

      The number of female readers is only slightly higher than for males.

      Americans love HISTORY, MYSTERY, AND BIOGRAPHY.

      Fiction sales gave gone up by 45% over the last five years. 

      Non-fiction, especially political and self-help, are currently seeing a decline in interest. 

      You can draw your own conclusions, but from these statistics, we might want to focus on women readers of history, mysteries, and biographies.

      And although Romance has always been a popular genre—and probably will continue to be—perhaps now would be a good time for Romance writers to couple with the genres above…Romantic Suspense… Historical Romance, and so on.

      Those are my thoughts based on a little research.