Substack for authors can be a useful way to publish regularly, build an email audience, and create stronger relationships with readers — but it should not replace your author website, your broader book marketing plan, or the parts of your platform you fully control.
If people are reading your book, why isn’t your author income higher? The answer is that readership and royalties do not always move together. Many readers access books through libraries, used-book sales, subscriptions, personal sharing, book clubs, or digital borrowing — channels that may generate limited royalties, one-time licensing income, or no direct payment to the author at all.
Writing a novella can be an exciting journey for any writer, but it’s often misunderstood as just a “shorter novel.” In reality, a novella has unique requirements and offers distinct advantages. In this guide, we’ll delve into what makes a novella special, explore the specific structure and pacing novellas demand, and provide strategies to help you create a compelling story. Whether you’re exploring novellas as a standalone option or as a way to expand your writing repertoire, this guide offers the practical steps to get started.
Launching your book at the right time of the year can make a big difference in its success. Consider the seasonality of your book, competition, and media coverage when deciding on the best time to launch. And remember, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer – what works for one book may not work for another. Ultimately, the most important thing is to have a great book that resonates with readers, no matter when it’s launched.
Distribute your ebook through an aggregator that feeds OverDrive — such as Draft2Digital, Smashwords, or PublishDrive — and your print edition through IngramSpark. Libraries then order copies through those catalogs. You can’t upload directly to OverDrive as an individual, which is why an aggregator is required.
At Atmosphere Press, interior design is one of the final major steps before your book moves toward physical proofing and production. By this point, your manuscript has already moved through earlier editorial and preparation stages. Now, the focus shifts from the words themselves to how those words appear on the page.
Romantasy still sells, and BookTok creators broadly expect it to stay dominant through 2026. What’s changed is the supply side: the market is crowded, and there are signs that agents and editors are less hungry for new romantasy voices than they were two years ago. If you love the genre, write it—but write it knowing you’re entering a saturated field where “competent” no longer stands out.
Book rights are divisible, and many deals license print while the author retains ebook, audio, or foreign rights. Matt Dinniman’s Dungeon Crawler Carl deal with Ace is a prominent recent example. Whether a publisher will agree to a split depends on your leverage and the specific contract.
Whether you’re drafting your first romantasy or refining a manuscript already brimming with yearning and enchantments, you’ll find practical guidance here to help you blend heat, heart, and high-fantasy energy into one irresistible spell.
At Atmosphere Press, we offer four tiered hybrid publishing packages—Essential, Premium, Flagship, and Enterprise—designed to give authors everything they need to publish a high-quality book, reach readers worldwide, and retain full creative control.
For writers considering Atmosphere Press, Dossett’s experience offers a grounded example of what a strong publishing partnership can provide: professionalism, guidance, encouragement, and a path forward.
Stuck between first draft and finished masterpiece? Beta readers can bridge the gap. These unsung heroes provide fresh eyes, insightful feedback, and honest critique to take your story to the next level.
As a writer, you’ve probably experienced the thrill of creating a piece of work that you’re proud of. You’ve poured your heart and soul into it, polished every word, and hit the “submit” button with a sense of anticipation. But then, the dreaded email arrives: “Thank you for your submission, but unfortunately, it’s not a fit for us at this time.” Rejection. Ouch. It’s inevitable, but it still stings—so let’s talk about how to handle rejection like a pro.
What Does It Mean for a Book to Be “Finished”? While starting a book can be challenging in its own right, writers often find difficulty in finishing the book, or deciding where it should end. At some point in every…
To write characters smarter than you, let the character seem brilliant in the finished scene while you build that brilliance behind the scenes. Use placeholders, targeted research, reverse engineering, specific expertise, and carefully planted clues so their intelligence feels earned rather than convenient.
Genre and setting aren’t separate decisions. They’re the same decision, approached from two different angles. When they’re aligned, a story feels inevitable. When they’re in deliberate tension, it can feel surprising and alive in ways readers remember long after the plot has faded.
As of September 2025, Amazon updated KDP Select terms to allow simultaneous library distribution. Your KU ebook can now appear through OverDrive, Hoopla, BorrowBox, and other major library platforms without breaking exclusivity. You still can’t distribute to retail ebook stores — Apple Books, Kobo, Barnes & Noble — while enrolled. That restriction remains. But libraries are now an open lane, and you can use third-party distributors like Draft2Digital to get there while keeping your KDP Select enrollment fully intact.
The main problems with traditional publishing stem from its focus on market viability, risk management, and scale. This can result in limited access, long timelines, reduced creative control, and uncertainty for authors—even when the work itself is strong.
Self-publishing is best for authors who want full control and are comfortable managing every step; if you want professional support and a structured process, publishing with Atmosphere Press may be a better fit.
Waiting for a literary agent can take months or years, with no guarantee of representation.
If you want more control, a clear timeline, and a collaborative publishing process, publishing with Atmosphere Press may be a better fit.