FREE DOWNLOAD!! I wrote this little guide, MARKET YOUR OWN BOOK, for my self-publishing author friends on accounta I love you. I even designed it myself, just for fun. I hope this helps you!
~By Suzanne Parada
You’ve worked a long time to write your book; don’t rush to get it to print. Remember, you want buyers and readers to take your book seriously. It’s important that you take the layout and design of your book just as seriously. One of your best investments might be to hire a professional book designer. A good book designer will provide you with a professional looking cover and construct the interior book content with detail and artistic ability. In order to get readers’ attention or to get noticed by book buyers, your book has to look professional. Self-publishing gives you the opportunity to do many jobs that used to be done by dedicated professionals, but in some cases you may not get the results you want. Be certain to avoid these stumbling blocks, so your book doesn’t “stand out from the crowd” in all the wrong ways: • Odd-Numbered Pages on the Left | The first page you see when opening a book is page 1. All odd-numbered pages in your book should appear on right-hand pages. • Blank Right-Hand Page | It is fine to have a blank page on the left hand side. It is not acceptable to have a blank right hand page in your book. There are times when copy or artwork need to be adjusted to avoid a blank right hand page. • Too Many Folios | Of course books need folios (page numbers) on most pages. However, folios do not belong on the title page, the copyright page, blank pages and other pages as suggested by your designer. • Running Headers on Blank Pages | If a page has no text it should have no header either. It is important to check for this in the proofing stage of your book interior. • Ragged Right Text | There are some books that can be typeset in a ragged right (unjustified) style, but they are rare. It is generally a good idea to use justified copy unless your designer suggests otherwise. Of course there are many other ways you can inadvertently alert people that you are an amateur, but these common mistakes are easy to avoid. Make sure your book stands out for the great writing, the thoughtful arguments, or the tremendous value it brings to readers—not because it looks unprofessional. ~By Rodger Johnson.
One of the most common questions authors ask me is this: “I’m about to launch my book and want to use Twitter to do it. Can you help?” Typically, if the author has a great book and backstory to that creation, my inclination is to help. But authors who want to got it alone and succeed online need to understand these three Twitter best practices. It is possible to have short-term success on Twitter, but to build a community of passionate followers takes months—even years. So, I tell them, “If you’re in this for a short-term fix, you’ll be disappointed.” Build Your Network One point you should know about Twitter: its strength is built on weak links. That is, people on Twitter are part of many groups—some closer than others—and many people vacillate between groups. So, even if you build a Twitter following over many months of focused engagement, you are probably less likely to sell a single copy of your book using the social network. As one social media professional has advised, “These are people who are aware of you but probably won’t take a strong action like donate to a cause or buy something just because you ask.” Like anything else, to be successful you need to be methodical and build a relevant audience to find those few who will buy your book. Here are a few tools you could us: · Twitter Lists · Advanced Twitter Search · Twitter Chats Create Content That Converts Once you have built an audience of relevant people interested in what you’re doing, it’s time to start using content to convert them into buying customers. There are plenty of examples of good content, and to each author this approach may be different. However, let me share some broad ideas: · Rich Content: This comes from your expertise and provided depth, voice and authority. · Shared Content: Doing a good job surrounding yourself with good people means that you can use their content too. Or, you can bring new voices to your blog. · Contests and Games: For one of my authors, we launched a writing contest around his book. The winner received a free copy of the author’s book and he offered to write the foreword. People get engaged with these because they want to win something; it also connects them to something bigger—a community of aspiring authors, in this case. · Personal Engagement: Show people your personal side occasionally and reach out to chat, share moments from you life. This includes pictures. Get In The Game, And Stay There Like any social activity, it’s important to be social. In real life we build meaningful relationships all of the time. These become strong links as we continue engagement, maybe even years of it. Networking on the web is the same. It takes time and patience. Managing Your Expectations And Be Optimistic – Always Many get discouraged and think Twitter is something it’s not. There is no utopia where, magically, relationships develop without work. Twitter is just a machine that lets people connect and share information, like the telephone. When Graham Bell invented the telephone, he didn’t magically create new relationships; he worked for them. You need to have realistic expectations about how it works and what it takes to get there. Twitter, rich content, an engaged audience and consistent relationship building over time is the secret formula to success using Twitter to build a market around your book. I hope this has been helpful. ~Janet Schwind, editor, interviewer Retired real estate investor Walter Danley didn't always think about killing. An Indiana Hoosier native, Walter was uprooted early in life when his dad took a job as a machinist in a World War II defense plant when Walter was just a peanut. Much later he served his country as a Navy hospital corpsman, then in the Fleet Marine Force as a medic. Following his honorable discharge, Walter sold wood products to the construction trades, attending college at night until a developer client recruited him into commercial real estate, where he spent his working career on the investment side of the business—and obviously multitasking as he began brewing twisted mystery plotlines. Walter now lives in the Texas Hill Country, where he works on the sequel to his suspense thriller, The Tipping Point, as well as a third novel, which he describes as a historical western with a fantasy twist. What genre is your book? My novel THE TIPPING POINT is a thriller/suspense story. Tell us about your book—your first--The Tipping Point. The story follows Garth Wainwright as he transitions from a contented, wealthy executive into a person forced by circumstances to become a detective, chasing an unknown killer of his partners while, at the same time, trying to figure out which of his partners embezzled millions of dollars from the firm. Are the murders connected to the fraud? Is one of his partners a killer? Which one? Who can he trust? I know all of the twisted, juicy answers. How did a guy like you make the leap to become a fiction writer? In an interview last week, I was asked what was it that made me think I could write fiction. That was one I’d never been asked and it took a beat to answer. Often, your first reaction is the best. I gave the interviewer my first, which was, “I never considered that I could not write fiction.” I guess that must have come from my past career in investment real estate. I’d never done that either, before I started. I studied the profession, asked a bunch of dumb questions, went back to school for some formal training, and then just did it. It worked out pretty well for me over the next forty years. You did something interesting with the viewpoints of the characters in your novel—tell us about that. Gee, Janet, I wish you hadn’t brought that up. Sorry. Let’s let your readers in on what you and I are referring to. In THE TIPPING POINT, when a new character appears in the story, I had them introduce themselves in the first person. When that scene concludes, the narrator takes over again in third person point-of-view. Each new character appears and speaks in first person. There are two problems with that; I have too many major characters to have the POV moving back and forth. While this technique, which I stole from F. Scott Fitzgerald, worked really well for him, for me it did not work. Janet, as you know, I’m about to publish the second edition of THE TIPPING POINT. If you will allow me the courtesy of a small digression, one of the things that is being changed is the shifting POV. About half of the reviews (including the two “two stars” it got) thought this was confusing. Most didn’t even bat an eye at the subtle shift. There were other issues that a few kind souls pointed out, but my primary reason for making significant changes was the sequel. The story line for the sequel just didn’t work unless I changed parts of the original story. All in all, like every other writer, you want your novel to be the best that you can make it. You want the reader to have the highest quality product that you can produce. So, as long as I was going to go to the expense in time and money to rewrite the book, I wanted to address the comments made about it, at least those that I agreed should be changed. That is why there will be a second edition of my first novel. I appreciate your respect for the reader. Also, your ability to entertain with such intriguing characters and inspired plot twists. Have you always had murder on your mind? You ask a person who has survived four divorces such a question. No, I’m kidding. I have always had an excellent post separation/divorce relationship with my exs. While there were four property settlements, there have been only three women. The mother of my five sons, the late Valerie Gay Wolford Danley, was both my first and second marriage. Lorraine Marcia Ramones Danley was next and Christopher Wyndon Norris Danley, who tolerated me for more years than the combined first three marriages. We stay in touch and are good friends. They are wonderful women that I admire and care about. Oh, MURDER! No I have not. In fact, one of the hardest parts of writing the novel was coming up with plausible but inventive ways to kill a person. Which must be fun for a non-murderer like yourself. Four of Wainwright’s partners get knocked off in the story, so I worked to make that interesting. How did you develop your story? (Did you outline it start to finish, know the end first and work toward that, or did you just write and let the idea develop as you wrote?) Some of all the above. I had most of the plot in mind for more than twenty years. I lived with some of the characters (or reasonable facsimiles) during my investment career. None of the story I wrote actually happened and the characters are all fictional, but the unique situations that I wrote about were symbolic of real-life people and events I experienced during that career. Truth be told, some real-life stuff that did happen, I couldn’t include because nobody would have believed it! I don’t want to lose my credibility, ya know. You're totally legit. When I first contemplated writing THE TIPPING POINT, I did outline the story in a general way, not chapter by chapter, but the basic plot that I’d been thinking about for those many years. That was easy. When I began to expand the outline, getting to the chapters was difficult enough, but to outline down to a scene level, well, I found that to be impossible for me to accomplish. The solution for me was to let the characters run wild, wherever they wanted to take the story. In the end, we got a terrific story, interesting characters and an ending that no one saw coming. It is a real thriller and I am very proud of both the first and second editions of THE TIPPING POINT. What else about the book might pique the readers’ attention? Hey, Janet. When do you ask the easy questions? What’s your favorite color? Let’s see, you already know that there is a sequel, so that isn’t any news. What happens to the Wainwright during THE TIPPING POINT changes him in the sequel, INSIDE MOVES. He is the same guy, but not the same person that he started out in the first novel. It’s true, we all change with time, but time did a number on Garth Wainwright. You’ll have to read the first to appreciate his metamorphosis in INSIDE MOVES. Something that has been a major surprise to me is that so many people have found the character I call The Assassin so interesting. I can’t do too much explaining about why, because that gets into the spoiler syndrome, but the number of his fans has blown me away. With a name like Assassin, you wouldn’t expect that there would be a following, but there sure is. People are dark, so dark. What actors would you choose to play the characters in the film version of your book? Since your serious question is based on a fantasy premise, I’ll answer in kind. Wainwright would be best played by Robert Redford, but not as he is today. It turns out that Redford was born in 1936 and in my story, Wainwright was born in 1938, so they are about the right age. THE TIPPING POINT takes the entire year of 1978 to tell the story. Wainwright was just forty years old at the start of the story. So think about Redford, as Garth Wainwright, when he filmed Three Days of the Condor (1975). The popular and acclaimed All the President's Men (1976)—that Robert Redford is a perfect Wainwright. As for the Assassin, the mental picture of him that I have is not going to be the same as the next person’s, so I won’t share it with your readers. This is a very unusual character and it would be unfair for me to substitute my picture of him for theirs. One of the other major characters is very easy. That would be Lacey Kinkaid. While there are many wonderful actors who would deliver a credible job with this role, it was written with my ex-wife, Christopher Norris, in mind. Christopher is a veteran actor and has a stage presence that speaks to the fact that she began on the Broadway stage at five years old and has worked in theater, film, television, and voice acting until she retired a few years ago. Your readers will remember her best as nurse Gloria Brancusi or Ripples on the TV series TRAPPER JOHN, MD. That ran on CBS for seven years. Physically, Lacey is the opposite of Christopher—a black haired, brown eyed Lacey as compared to the real-life Christopher Norris who Billy Joel sang as BLONDE OVER BLUE. It was Christopher’s emotional make-up that I tried to capture for Lacey. She is complicated, yes, but smart, clever, and daring. This is what I wanted Lacey to be. What has been your biggest challenge as an author? The marketing process is daunting. I wish I could write all the time and somebody else would make the novels best-sellers. There are so many marketing and sales responsibilities that fall to the author and that takes away from the writing. No matter who you are, there are no more than twenty-four hours in the day. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? I didn’t keep a diary, I wish I had, but the time of actual writing was less than six months. It was the research that took the time. Logistics are a funny thing. You wouldn’t take notice of a statement or action … unless it was wrong, then it sticks out like the red nose on a circus clown. I hinted that the characters did much of the writing for me. I was the instrument, the guy on the keyboard, but they drove the story. I’ve read that other writers had this experience, but never expected to have it myself. This qualifies as one of the amazing discoveries I’ve made as a new author. Too bad they can’t do the marketing for you too. What’s been your biggest joy in becoming a novelist? That is an easy one. I love making up a world that actually works. In my novels, the political stalemates are controlled and always go in the right directions. Oops, did I give away my personal political affiliations? What’s your writing process like? Depends on what part of the process you are asking. If I have an idea or theme for the story, I spend a lot of time with a glass of scotch and a cigar on my deck. I play some Billy Joel and allow my mind to drift where it will. When something from my subconscious surfaces and it always does, I make notes on the pad I always have with me. Sometimes it is a few lines, and, if I am in tune with my muse, I can fill page after page with it. If it is flowing, go with it! After several sessions on the deck, I usually have enough to begin an outline. With me, that is a two-stage process. I take several days to transcribe my notes into the outliner mode of Word. As I write, I have additional or expansive thoughts that get included. When I’ve done as much damage as I can to the outline, I transfer it to Scrapple, which is Scrivener (one of my writing tools) capable mind map software. I’m visual and seeing the relationships of the characters, the scenes, and the action really helps me flesh out the rest of the tale. I take the notes in Scrapple and modify the structure. I absolutely believe that telling a story is like building a structure. You have to set the foundation in place, erect exterior walls, represented by the objective of the protagonists and the barriers he must overcome to achieve his goals. Then you must tie the walls in place with a substantial roof, or the plot. The interior partitions are the sub-plots in your house, and your characters move from room to room as the story progresses. When I’m finished, I give it to you to polish and make it acceptable. Thanks! I’m glad you do. What did you learn through the process of publishing your first book that you will apply to your next one? You don’t have room here or time to list all I’ve learned about the process. But let me say this, about that. When you have your head down and are writing as fast as you can, you must also be thinking about the marketing of the book. It is the very last thing you want to be conscious of, but it is probably more important than the writing itself. That is, if you intend to be a commercial success. None of us start that process soon enough. It wouldn’t be too soon to start promoting the novel even before you have written it. Sounds crazy, but that is the optimum time to start the marketing process. You’re not just a good writer—you’re a smart guy. Will your book be Indie published, self-published or represented by an agency and sold to a traditional publisher? You know, Janet, I spent the first year studying what was happening in the publishing industry. I think with the data I accumulated, I have enough for another Master’s thesis. Bottom line is that I don’t have time to do the dance with literary agents, publishers and there very one-sided contracts. It just doesn’t make sense to me. I’m not a twenty-year-old who has time on his/her side. Besides, I hate rejection and a lot of that is part of the dance, so I went out with my first novel, as Guy Kawasaki calls it, artisanal publishing, which is independent publishing. I am very happy with the results and intend to continue. Should I be so fortunate, as was Hugh Howey, I would be most happy to consider a traditional publishing contract. But since that is not likely to happen within the years I have remaining on God’s green earth, I’ll just keep on being artisanal. What are you working on now? (job and next novel) I have three important things I do each day; I run, I eat and I write. That is my life. Oh, occasionally I catch a ball game or take a lady to dinner on San Antonio’s wonderful River Walk, but after six miles and a shower, I’m ready to write. I have two open projects that I’m writing now. I will finish the sequel, INSIDE MOVES, after THE TIPPING POINT, 2ND Edition is published. I have about half of an untitled work-in-process completed. That should come out early 2015, if all goes well. This one is a change in genre for me, however, and it is hard to describe. I call it an historical western with a fantasy twist. Got it? No, but it sounds interesting! What advice would you give to aspiring writers? None. I wouldn’t be so presumptuous as to give anyone advice. I’m going to take that good advice. Where do you see publishing going in the future? I am confident that artisanal publishing will continue to grow. One of the reasons for that will be the worldwide growth of eBooks. While the USA and UK have a head-start in retailing of eBooks, the rest of the world will soon catch up. Let me give you an example. India is only now starting to establish retail eBook sellers. There are 125 million English-speaking people in India, about half as many as in the United States. There are 20 million more English-speaking people in Nigeria than in the UK. So demand for English eBooks is a vast and expanding market for authors. Then you have the traditional publishers (now only the big five) doing all the wrong things. They have distribution dominance with retailers in most of the world, but treat them poorly. As an easy example, consider that the traditionals charge a library more for a book than the price a retailer would pay. Many of their policies and practices are like a boat ramp for indie (sorry, artisanal) publishers. This is a golden time for artisanal authors. Is there anything else you would like to add that I haven’t included? Oh, you clever little dickens! You’ve done a terrific job on this interview. Well, thank you, I’ve enjoyed learning more about you and your process. I hope that with my answers, I’ve given back to you a small measure of the thought and effort you have invested in developing the questions. I want to thank you for the opportunity to chat with you and to meet your readers. Thank you, Janet. I appreciate being asked to be join you today. How can readers discover more about you and your work? WalterDanely.com Facebook 1 and Facebook 2 LibraryThing Lnkedin Google Plus Pinterest: Amazon Author Page Goodreads Smashwords--With publication of 2nd Edition, Smashwords will distribute this title Book Links: (* American, UK, etc.) All of Amazon foreign stores ~by Rodger Johnson
I’ve been writing professionally for over a decade—mostly magazine pieces, marketing copy and other types of business communication. There is one lesson I learned, however. Save everything—even your scraps. This may seem like advice that would lead someone to cameo on the reality TV show Hoarders, but no. Stay with me. For authors of fiction or non-fiction, this is a lesson not for generating more ideas for new books, although surely scraps can lead to new creations, but these leftovers are great marketing collateral too. Here’s a True Story Once, I worked with an author who had written a devotional book. While the book was a great asset for believers to strengthen their faith, it was the stuff that never made the final cut that became the backbone for our content marketing strategy. My author had researched her topic so well; however, the scraps we transformed into supplementary lessons to complement the devotionals in the book. This did three things for our online marketing strategy: · By offering up this content as a supplemental material, it drove curiosity for the book, which increased the number of people who viewed the author’s website, particularly the book page. · Each blog post was a lesson in itself, so people could strengthen their faith with just the blog content, which is the cornerstone of any marketing strategy. · Through the blog the author was not interrupting what people wanted to consume, but being what they wanted to consume, which built tremendous trust. From this approach, there were tangible results: · The author’s community and audience online grew quickly. And those people were loyal, return visitors. · The people shared the content with their followers, increasing the reach of the author’s content, which strengthened a marketing phenomenon called word of mouth. · People actually purchased the author’s book. Why? Because her table scraps gave the people reading her blog a taste of the book. It also edified them at the same time. The Payoff for You What does this mean for authors like you? Simply, an effective marketing strategy that uses content you’ve already produced can fuel book promotion, build an engaged audience, and persuade them to buy your book. Instead of my author interrupting people with the typical “Buy me! Buy me!” approach, the author built trust first by offering useful, relevant content that helped people do exactly what they wanted—build their faith. A side note, by the way. From the blogging, we created a new book as a supplement to her original book. And her loyal followers devoured it. My awesome Camino pilgrim friend John Clark and I have never met in person, but we quickly became friends pre-Camino through an online forum when I read his posts that caught my heart and I thought to myself, this person sounds so much like me. I really like him! We became part of each other's Caminos with that unique friendship bond and I just can't say enough about the warmth and kindness of him. I'm proud to spread the word about the FREE DOWNLOAD of his book, Finding God in Texas. Get it today by clicking the link.
~Janet ~Janet Schwind, editor, interviewer
Editor’s note: When Nancy told me her maiden name I lost it—I really thought she was kidding. Nancy Schmoll. You know, Schmoll, Paul, whatever. Nancy Paul grew up in the north woods of Minnesota, reading and writing constantly (when she wasn’t fishing, hunting or trapping). After college she got married and became a mom of six, reading and writing constantly (recipes and grocery lists). Then she began to collaborate with God in impossible things--marathons, stand-up comedy, riding a motorcycle, writing a novel (when she’s not fishing things out of the toilet, hunting for the other shoe, or trapping herself in the bathroom for a few moments of sanity). Some things never change. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You’ve written two books…what genre(s) are they? This should be an easy question to answer, but it’s sort of not. NUBBY is kind of a crime/romance/inspirational fiction thingy. Keeping My Sister is a cross between memoir and historical fiction. Both were difficult to label, maybe because there just aren’t enough genres to choose from. Or maybe I’m just non-committal. One or the other. But I’m not picking. A home schooler, a mom, a wife, a biker chick …How did a gal like you make the leap to become an author? It was an accident, really. Growing up, I’d always wanted to be a writer, but gave up that dream for the tyranny of the urgent. One night a couple years ago I had a crazy dream. When I woke up, the main character was stuck in my brain like a splinter. Infected with a desire to know more about her, the idea of writing her story festered until it burst like puss all over my keyboard (changing analogies now because I just threw up in my mouth a little). NUBBY was like a baby growing in my womb which had to be given birth. I couldn’t NOT write it, just as a pregnant woman can’t NOT push when it’s time. After my creative labor, plop, there she was, in all her glory—my first literary baby. What a relief to finally have a newborn who didn’t poop. Tell us about your first book--Nubby. Funny name. Is this a funny book? There are some humorous moments in the book, but overall, no, unless the reader is a bit disturbed to begin with, it’s not what I’d consider a comedy. The name Nubby is the tragic nickname given to the main character based on her obvious physical disabilities. “Oh, that’s just Nubby.” The reader quickly discovers that Ann (her real name) isn’t “just” anything. She's amazing, and so are her friends and family, who rescue her from e-vile villains and their horrible human trafficking business. How did you develop your story? (how did the creative process work for you…describe) It all started when God said, “Let’s run a marathon together.” I said okay and made room in my schedule for training. He helped me do the rest. Then He was like, “Let’s write a book together.” I said okay and made room in my schedule for writing. He helped me do the rest. In high school and college I was taught that when you write, you have to have a plan first—an outline, a graphic organizer, at the very least a list, for Pete’s sake! I had none of these when I wrote NUBBY, (sorry, Pete). I had no idea who would be part of the story or where it would go. I just sat down and wrote whatever came. I got to know the characters through their dialogue and actions as I wrote them. I sent it, chapter by chapter, to a couple of friends who were thrilled and annoyed by the suspense. “What’s going to happen next?” I was just as curious as they were, for I hadn’t written it yet. There were times I’d feel “stuck” with a certain plot line, unsure how to resolve something. I’d maybe say a little prayer about it, leave it alone for awhile and BAM! an idea would hit me when I least expected it—in the shower, on my bike, in my sleep, at church, sitting on the toilet. Too much information? Yeah, I do that sometimes. What about this book might pique (not peek) a reader’s interest? I hate the villains. Unapologetically hate them. I don’t want to know their back story, I don’t want to understand the psychology of why they became the monsters they are. I really couldn’t care less. But, just like the other characters introduced in NUBBY, many readers are interested in learning more. So, I suppose the big meanies will make their appearances in the sequels rattling around in my brain. Uninvited. Jerks. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? I started in November and finished in March. So, that’s what, 18 months? I’m not very good at math, though, so you might want to check my work. It happened so quickly because the story consumed my every waking moment. You know how it is when you really get into a book and you can’t put it down, not even to go to the bathroom, or eat, or sleep? You sneak it into your purse and read it in church between Communion and the sermon? That’s how it was for me, except I wasn’t just reading it, I was writing it. It was a totally creative, fun, free thinking process where I just wrote what came, refusing to edit through the first draft. I just wrote. What actors would you choose to play the characters in the film version of your book? Sam Elliot would be Dickerson (because he’s hot). Kevin Bacon would be Frank, (same reason, actually). Ann would play herself. Oh, wait, she’s not real. I forget. Ooh, ooh, the soundtrack would totally be Natalie Merchant! That’s all I got so far. What about your second book...tell us about that, what it’s about, how that story evolved. Keeping My Sister is about two sisters who may or may not be related to me and my sister (no spoilers here), their survival together through a traumatic childhood, their journeys separate ways, and the unequivocal love of their heavenly Father. I was riding my motorcycle last summer when He gently told me the truth. My {friend’s} sister had been sex trafficked. I’d read enough on the subject to recognize immediately that I could write her story well, but I didn’t want to. I generally avoid pain (unless it’s of the tattoo or bugs in my face on the highway sort) and I knew writing her story would send me into the shadows. But I also knew that if God was opening me up to go down this path that He wouldn’t send me alone. He gave me what I needed throughout this project, from an outline which gave me parameters to professionally distance myself from the story, to an amazing editor who helped me to give the right voices to the two sisters. He even gave me the beautiful, redemptive ending before I sat down to write the hardest, darkest middle parts. What’s been your biggest joy about becoming a novelist, other than working with me? The readers’ responses have been phenomenal. From NUBBY readers clamoring for a sequel, to Keeping My Sister readers being given permission—to feel, to grieve, to worship, to heal through my books—has been such an amazing, unexpected joy. What has been your biggest challenge as an author? Two things—marketing and finding time to write. I don’t have time to market myself because I’d rather be writing. I don’t have time to write because I’m busy taking myself to the market. What’s the biggest surprise to you about becoming an author? It has been easier than I imagined it to be—to be published. But that’s probably because I have a very creative, experienced team behind me who’ve helped me along from start to finish on both my projects. They have been my cheerleaders, given professional input, and led me step by step through the process. [Editor's note: They sound really great.] What did you learn through the process of publishing your first book(s) that you will apply to your next one? I learned that Create Space, Kindle Direct, and Amazon make it easy and accessible for authors like me to publish, market, receive royalties and keep organized through clear reports for tax and business purposes. Will your book be Indie published, self published or represented by an agency and sold to a traditional publisher? I love self-publishing. I like maintaining creative control, control of royalties, pricing and deadlines. Traditional publishing seems to rely on forms of marketing which aren’t realistic for me where I am in life—travel and book signing tours. Sounds fun, but I have other plates spinning right now. Also, I can do so much through social media. For instance, I did a Kindle promotion recently and sold multiple copies of my book from the comfort of my own home. This wouldn’t have been effective in a book signing scenario. People don’t generally like it when I write my name on their tablets. Plus, I'd probably have to change out of my jammies. What are you working on now? (job, life, next novel) I started working on NUBBY NUBBY (the sequel) but am taking a break for now. What I really hope to do is to write a hilarious and inspirational book next. Sort of Bossypants meets The Shack. Or Erma Bombeck meets C.S.Lewis—and they have a lovechild. That’s what I want to do this summer—have a lovechild. We recently moved into the country, so I’m enjoying planting, shooting stuff, watching my kids free range, tending to our chickens and living life from a place of peace and serenity instead of having to work so hard to go find it. What advice would you give to aspiring writers? The advice I got was to schedule time for your writing and stick to it unless you have a family emergency or a polar vortex or something like that. If there are things which block your creative flow, remove them. Silence the internal critic, or better yet, kill it. Just write the first draft, then edit. And personally, since I don’t really know how to write any other way, my advice is to collaborate with God in your creative endeavors. He will do more with your writing than what you expect or imagine. Where do you see publishing going in the future? I see more and more writers moving toward self-publishing, for the creative control reasons I listed earlier. And so they can stay in their jammies. How can readers discover more about you and you work? My website, desprithousewife.com My Facebook page My book links: NUBBY (* American, UK, etc.) Keeping My Sister ~by Janet Schwind
With so many options available for world dominion these days, I want to narrow it down for you. Whether you decide to take over the world through forming your own publishing company and use a company like LightningSource (a great source for printing and distribution), or go through a print-on-demand publisher like CreateSpace, you can publish yourself and begin to infiltrate the globe and influence humanity with your words. It doesn’t need to be complicated or reserved only for people like Tina Fey (my hero). In fact, I know from experience, having been employed in the publishing world and now as an independent publisher—it’s simple and fun and there’s room out there for you to be remarkable. There’s really nothing holding you back from invading a small country (except laws and governments and junk like that) or publishing a book. However you dream of making an impact, the world is yours for the taking. So here’s just one option that’s highly attainable: About 95% of the authors I work with use CreateSpace, so that’s what I’ll focus on for now. An Amazon.com company, CreateSpace allows you to self-publish within the print-on-demand model. This means you do not have to purchase inventory; books are printed one at a time to fulfill orders placed online. CreateSpace handles all book orders and shipping—we’re talking global. And they handle payments automatically; you just sit back and receive your cut. You retain 100% rights. But first you need to produce a great book. Whether you’ve written a manifesto, a memoir, or a novel, you’ll need someone nice who’s also skilled in world-takeover-via-publishing and who can walk you through the process, which must include these two items: · Professional edit—to elevate your writing and put in on the map · Custom interior layout and cover design—that work together to help you stand out While many publishing houses may shroud the process in mystery and layers of ala carte add-ons, you really don’t have to go through all that to produce an excellent, marketable book. You don’t even need a publishing house. All you need are the right publishing professionals to cover the two items above [talk to me, I know a few people], and you’re in the game quickly and painlessly, while keeping your investment low. Because of its worldwide distribution, I think of CreateSpace as my silent partner in helping authors take over the world. Were I to get referral fees I would be totally rich right now. They offer many benefits for the self-publishing author: · Register your account for free and publish without upfront fees · You retain 100% copyright ownership · You receive profit based on selling price minus cost to print. · You can move to another publisher later if you choose · They provide ISBNs and barcode · Fast turnaround—your book is available within a week once you upload files · You set your book’s selling price · You can set up your own storefront on CreateSpace to sell your books online · Order your books at cost and have them shipped to your house—this is perfect for many professionals who use their books as marketing tools, selling them at conferences and seminars. · And many more benefits. It’s time—do you hear it? Your destiny is calling you. Don’t allow your story to languish in the recesses of your mind or your hard drive. It is time to get your voice out there where it can make an impact. And, while getting published is one thing, doing it well is another. You can do it yourself—but make sure you’re taking every opportunity to make your book successful out of the gate, with the right team working for you. Have questions or want to tell me about your book? Email me! Coming episodes: - What the right editor can do for your book - Marketing your book like a pro ~by Janet Schwind I wanted to be profound for my first post in our new alliance—but instead I am opting for being real. I’m just feeling pretty grateful to be doing what I love to do—being independent, using the skills and talents that mean something to me, choosing how I will spend my time, and for whom. And the fact that I have two friends who feel the same and share my professional goals is icing on the cake. That’s why the Alliance got together. We’re not a business per se. Sometimes you just want to work alongside people with a common vision and passion. Good people who do excellent work and you can have fun with along the way. In our case, it’s helping authors self-publish. Each of us brings one of the cornerstones of publishing--Janet (that's me) on editing (and blogging), Suzanne is design, and Rodger is promotion (and blogging)—so we can cover all the angles aspiring authors need. We love helping people bring their stories to life, each of us taking up the baton in our part of the relay, a.k.a. the publishing process. And collaborating seamlessly, because we’re not bogged down by any business structures or committees. You choose which parts of the publishing process you need, and work directly with a pro, one to one. Guided, easy and totally in your control. Keeping it simple, keeping it real. We hope you’ll hang with us, contact any one of us, ask questions, share your authoring dreams. And we’ll give your book our very best, from manuscript through interior design to cover design and promotion. In true indie style. I’ll be profound another day. |