by Tom Ashford

Welcome to the SPF Weekly Write-Up, where each Wednesday we collect together the self-publishing news of the week so you don’t have to.

This week: Microsoft stops selling eBooks, “bite-size” book sections might encourage more people to read, and Books Covered have some more pre-made covers available.

No More Microsoft Books

That’s right – the books category in the Microsoft Store is no more. But not only can you no longer buy them, from July this year you’ll no longer be able to read any of those books either!

Don’t fret. Microsoft is giving out refunds to anyone who bought books through them (which probably says quite a bit about how poorly their venture in eBooks went). Refunds should automatically come back to you via your original payment method, though it might be worth checking out their statement just to be safe.

Bite-Size Books

Lots of people feel as if they don’t have the time to read a full book these days. They’re wrong, of course – in the days of Love Island, they just don’t want to. And whilst we shouldn’t really be amending our writing style or the structure of our books to suit anyone who wouldn’t pick up a book for the sake of it anyway, keeping things “bite-size” might be a good way to hold people’s attention at a time when attention spans seem to be at an all-time low.

That’s according to an article in the New York Times, at least. It mentions writing in smaller, more accessible chunks – lengths which lend themselves to being read in the cracks of life (a morning commute, standing in a queue, etc.). Game of Thrones novels probably won’t fall into this category, but snappy thrillers might.

It’s an interesting idea. You can read more about it in the original article here.

Books Covered Have Some Pre-Mades Available!

For everyone who’s a fan of Books Covered’s cover designs, rejoice: they have a new set of pre-made covers available. At £165 these are notably cheaper than their custom-made cousins, but are no less impressive.

There are 16 covers on the site right now, but be quick. Who knows how quickly they’ll sell out!

Tom Ashford

Tom Ashford is a professional copywriter, author of numerous dark fantasy and sci-fi novels, and the Head of Content at the Self Publishing Formula Blog. His books include the Blackwater trilogy and the Checking Out series.

He lives in London with his wife, in an apartment that doesn’t allow pets. Find out more about Tom here.