Memorial Day Reading List
This upcoming Monday, May 31, those of us in the United States will be observing Memorial Day; a day to remember and honor the men and women who died while serving our country. In my house, this is a somber … Read More
Yes, You Need a Price Specific Barcode
Here at New Shelves we make it our business to interact with the writing and publishing communities. We’re members of ALLi, IBPA, Authors Guild, Reedsy and quite a few Facebook groups for writing, publishing and book promotion. Why? Because it’s … Read More
Top 10 Banned Books in 2020
Last week New Shelves released an article on the American Library Association “State of America’s Libraries” annual report. This week we are focusing in on the ALA’s list of the most “challenged” books of 2020 – many of which were … Read More
The ALA Releases 2021 Annual Report
Released on April 5, 2021, this year’s State of America’s Libraries Report looks a bit different than in years past. As Stephanie Hlywak Director, Communications and Marketing Office American Library Association wrote in the opening of the report, “nothing about … Read More
Amazon Changing File Requirements for KDP Ebooks
Many of you have recently received emails from Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) announcing that Amazon is changing file requirements for KDP ebooks. As often happens with change, there is some confusion about how this will change how authors and publishers … Read More
Your Spine Is Your Cover
Here’s one of the dirty little secrets in book publishing. Publishers spend countless hours and dollars working on their covers, but they often miss a critical point. With the exception of online retailers, your book spine is your cover. Brick … Read More
Marketing Books to Schools
Marketing books to schools (specifically K-12 schools) is a unique opportunity for authors and publishers. Whether it’s a children’s picture book, a chapter book, a YA book, or an adult fiction or nonfiction book, the goal for most authors is … Read More
Preorder Campaigns on Amazon
We used to suggest Preorder Campaigns on Amazon to our clients – not anymore. It used to be that when you pre-ordered with Amazon, they would count all of your orders as sales on the release day. Your orders stacked … Read More
How Much Money Does an Author Make?
POD Math How much money does an author make when they use IngramSpark or KDP to print their books? To answer that question we turn to something we call POD (Print on Demand) Math. Here is an example: A 202 … Read More
Should I Donate a Book to a Library
Donating books to libraries is a great idea, but you want to do it wisely. Dropping off a copy of your book at your local library will quite often just mean that your local library now has ANOTHER book to … Read More