Bethany Stahl
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  • Home
  • Books
    • Signed Copies
  • In the News
  • About
  • Contact
  • Classes
  • art
  • Free Activites
  • Blog
© 2021 Bethany Stahl

-ACCESS TO CLASSES-

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Join my Self-Pub Squad on Patreon

Gain access to courses , files, behind-the-scenes tips and tricks, and additional documents as well as the ability to message me and ask questions! If you see the Patreon logo on a course - that means it is exclusive to my Self-Pub Squad on Patreon.
JOIN NOW

-OVERVIEW & BASICS-

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KDP University

Learn all the ins and outs of KDP straight from the experts themselves,
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How to Publish a Book

A walk-through guide of 7 steps to take when publishing a book!
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KDP vs. IngramSpark

I go over ease of use, cost, color, and profits so you can make the choice that is best for you.
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KDP Printing Cost

Calculate your profits and understand your cost with KDP's Printing Cost Calculator

-WRITING-

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Children's Book Manuscript Basics

Learn about your audience, word count, and how to develop a clear story and get it ready for editing and a final manuscript!

Class Time: 20 minutes
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Grammarly

I discuss my personal experiences with the program along with the pricing, pros and cons!

Class Time: 10 minutes
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Grammarly & Word

How to integrate Grammarly into Word so you can utilize both together!

Class Time: 5 minutes
Requirements: Grammarly, Word


-ILLUSTRATIONS-

BEFORE YOU START:
I highly recommend downloading these free Photoshop Brushes to get you a diverse range of presets to work with.
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Finding an Illustrator

My best resource for finding qualified and professional illustrators.
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Illustrator Contract

If you are an illustrator working with an author or an author working with an illustrator here is a good template of where to start!
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Photoshop Basics
​Part 1

We will cover how to lay out your Photoshop screen and go over the brush settings.

Class Time: 10 minutes
​Requirements: Adobe Photoshop
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Photoshop Basics Part II

We will cover layers and blending modes! Be sure to watch Part 1 first!

Class Time: 10 minutes
​Requirements: Adobe Photoshop
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Character Illustration Basics

Learn how to illustrate a balloon character from scratch using only a round brush! Take Photoshop Basics I and II first.

Level: Beginner
Class Time: 20 minutes
​Requirements: Drawing Tablet, Adobe Photoshop

*Amazon Affiliate link for the tablet I have used for 2+ years and HIGHLY recommend! ($80)
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Photoshop Illustration
Mixed Media

Learn how to illustrate an animal character with a photo using mixed media!

Level: Beginner-Intermediate
Class Time: 2 hours
​Requirements: Drawing Tablet, Adobe Photoshop, Animal Photo

*Amazon Affiliate link for the tablet I have used for 2+ years and HIGHLY recommend! ($80)
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Creating a Coloring Book Page

Create your very own coloring book page for your book! Use it as a freebie, a email sign-up perk, or make an activity book!

Class Time: 20 minutes
​Requirements: Drawing Tablet, Photoshop, Illustration Rights

*Amazon Affiliate link for the tablet I have used for 2+ years and HIGHLY recommend! ($80)
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Creating a Dot to Dot
Create your very own dot to dot drawing based on your book! Use it as a freebie, a email sign-up perk, or make an activity book!

Class Time: 15 minutes
​Requirements: Drawing Tablet, Photoshop, Illustration Rights

*Amazon Affiliate link for the tablet I have used for 2+ years and HIGHLY recommend! ($80)
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Creating a Vector in One Click

Create a vector from a traditional work of art, or from a photograph in just one click

Class Time: 15 minutes
​Requirements: Adobe Illustrator
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All About Illustrating!

I cover what tools I use, share my process, a look inside my sketchbook, and talk about my favorite resource to find illustrators as well as the costs you can expect to pay for services.

Class Time: 15 minutes

-FORMATTING-

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InDesign Basics

Learn the basics of InDesign and start getting a feel for the program!

Class Time: 20 minutes
​Requirements: InDesign
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InDesign Formatting

Learn how to format your text on top of illustrations in InDesign!

Class Time: 15 minutes
​Requirements: InDesign
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InDesign 8.5" x 8.5" Documents

Download blank interior documents with and without bleeds in INDD or IDML.

​Requirements: InDesign (or software that can open the documents)
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InDesign 8.5" x 11" Documents

Download blank interior documents with and without bleeds in INDD or IDML.

​Requirements: InDesign (or software that can open the documents)
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InDesign Text & Illustrations

Format your children's book in InDesign with illustrations and text!

Class Time: 15 minutes
Requirements: InDesign

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KDP
​Cover Template

Generate a perfectly sized cover specific to your book!

​Requirements: Photoshop Recommended
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IngramSpark Cover Template

Generate a perfectly sized cover specific to your book with a barcode associated

​Requirements: InDesign Recommended
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InDesign Page Size Quick Fix

​Fix document size errors in one easy step!
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Class Time: 5 minutes
​Requirements: InDesign
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Fonts

Find the perfect font for your book here!

-FINAL DETAILS-

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ISBN

Getting an ISBN (International Standard Book Number) is a must have in the publishing world! Find out where to buy legitimate ISBN numbers.
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LCCN

Register for a free Library of Congress Control Number to have a better chance of having your book stocked in libraries!
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BISAC Codes

A previous requirement for IngramSpark was to know your BISAC code! Now they have made the process much easier, but if you ever need to know your codes, here is where to go!
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Copyright

Register your books copyright with the Library of Congress and add an extra layer of protection to your work.
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Copyright Infringement Case

I share real-life examples of copyright infringement, how to remove the content, cases when you would elevate a copyright claim online to sending a Cease and Desist letter, and possible backlash towards authors for protecting their work.

Class Time: 10 minutes
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Cease & Desist Template

A template I use for elevating cease and desist cases before I take legal action with a legal professional.

-UPLOADING AND PUBLISHING-

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Publishing & Uploading to IngramSpark

This video will walk you through step by step the uploading process as well as going over all of your options to make sure your book is in the best shape it can be!

Class Time: 20 minutes
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Publishing & Uploading to KDP

This video will walk you through step by step on how to publish your book on KDP!

Class Time: 20 minutes
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Set up a Pre-Order on IngramSpark

This video will walk you through step by step on how to set up your books for pre-order on IngramSpark!

Class Time: 5 minutes
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Set up a Pre-Order on KDP

This video will walk you through step by step on how to set up your eBook for pre-order on KDP!

Class Time: 5 minutes
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Create an eBook

Easily create your eBook with Kids Kindle Book Creator

Class Time: 5 minutes
Requirements: Kid's Kindle Book Creator
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Amazon Book Categories

Learn how to add up to 10 categories and change them based on new and growing categories.
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Find Book Categories

Easily find new categories with a free tool!

-AUDIOBOOKS-

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Intro Script

Here is my script I use for my audiobooks that meets the ACX requirements!
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Record Your Audiobook

Step by Step process on creating your audiobook for ACX from start to finish.

Class Time: 40 minutes
Requirements: Adobe Audition, ACX account, Microphone, Pop-filter

*Amazon Affiliate link microphone and pop-filter I have used endlessly for years and HIGHLY recommend
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Sell on ACX

Sell your audiobook on ACX! Increase your revenue and let your readers listen to the book before they buy!

Class Time: 20 minutes
Requirements: ACX account
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Fix ACX audio

If you submit your audio files to ACX, here are some common ways to fix errors. Note that ACX will tell you exactly what to fix.

Requirements: ACX account

-ANIMATIONS & VIDEO-

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AfterEffects Intro

Learn the basics of animating in AfterEffects to bring your book trailers to life!

Class Time: 10 minutes
Requirements: AfterEffects, Photoshop
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AfterEffects Shortcuts

Download shortcuts to go along with the AfterEffect tutorial.
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Sing-a-long Tutorial

Make a fun and exciting sing-a -long video to keep your readers engaged and singing the words of your book in song!

Class Time: 15 minutes
Requirements: AfterEffects, Photoshop
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Video Marketing 101

Create fun and exciting book trailers to build excitement around your books release!

Class Time: 15 minutes

-MARKETING-

PAID ADVERTISING

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AMS Marketing Strategy

Learn how to set up ads on Amazon Marketing Services (AMS) and get the most bang for your buck! I cover my strategy of using conservative bidding for big rewards.

Class Time:  40 minutes
Requirements: AMS Account
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AMS Strategy Flowchart

This is a downloadable for the AMS Marketing Strategy video to work your way through what to do next!
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BookBub

Numbers, Analytics, Effectiveness and more!

FREE ADVERTISING

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Free E-books = More Sales

Learn how setting a free e-book giveaway is a win-win for you and your readers!
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Promote Your eBook

If you are running a free eBook promotion, share you book with additional resources to increase your chances of getting downloads!
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Increase KNEP

KNEP is the count of "pages read" for their book signed up in Kindle Unlimited. Authors get paid per page read. Learn how to increase yours across 6 Tests with Results!

OPTIMIZING & GROWING

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Amazon Rank Increase

Increase your Amazon book rank with a few different strategies and your sales will increase with it!

​Class Time: 20 minutes
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Review Link

Help your readers leave a review by sending them a direct link to write one!
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Author Central

Grow your following on Amazon and capture your readers with an exciting author page!
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Class Time: 5 minutes
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The Magic Sentence

One sentence in your book can make you hundreds. Seriously!
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Selling on IngramSpark

I talk about the settings I use and why it leads to bulk orders on IngramSpark! I cover pricing, wholesale discounts, and returns as well as what all of that even means.

​Class Time: 30 minutes
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Create a Series

Create a series on KDP and increase your readership!

SOCIAL MEDIA & DESIGN

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Instagram Analytics

Dive into understand your individual Instagram Analytics by looking at which posts perform better and understand why with a document I've created just for you!
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Instagram Do's and Dont's

Grow your following organically and increase your following with an audience who is engaged and cares!
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Easy Book Mock-Up

Make an easy book mock-up perfect for social media with Canva!

Class Time: 5 minutes
Requirements: Canva

IN PERSON EVENTS

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Creating Cardboard Cutouts

Create fun cardboard cutouts for visitors to pose with, play with, and interact with!

Class Time: 25 minutes
Requirements: Cardboard, Acrylic Paint, Pencil, Paint Brushes

-THE BUSINESS SIDE-

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Quickbooks Self-Employed

Track and categorize your spending, profits, and mileage all with one program. It exports into a document at the end of the year to hand over to your CPA or automatically integrates with TurboTax. This is not a sponsored post, and I can say I have been a customer for several years now, and love the service. It saves me time and money.

Get 50% off your first 6 months

-ADDITIONAL CONTENT-

ANSWERING YOUR QUESTIONS

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Author Q&A's

Catch up on all the Q&A sessions I have hosted to date!

Class Time: 23 minutes
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Goal Setting

Setting sales goals and writing goals!

Class Time: 10 minutes
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Sales Tracking Sheet for Self-Pub Patrons
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Author Advice

8 things I would change if I could start my career over again.

Class Time:  10 minutes
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A more in-depth explanation with real world examples.
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Facebook & Instagram

Why I decided to leave FB & IG.

Class Time: 12 minutes

MISHAPS AND SHENANIGANS

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Missing KDP Sales

Today I am sharing about where a missing 2,000 KDP book sales went! I did a bunch of investigating and digging to get to the bottom of it and found out exactly what had happened.

Class Time: 10 minutes

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A more in-depth explanation along with how I am preventing it from happening again.

-FREE RESOURCES-

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Subscribe to my YouTube Channel

See videos uploaded every week all about my self-publishing journey! I cover everything from advertising to book design!
SUBSCRIBE NOW
© 2021 Bethany Stahl
  • Home
  • Books
    • Signed Copies
  • In the News
  • About
  • Contact
  • Classes
  • art
  • Free Activites
  • Blog