Self-Publishing - Main Tips and Worst Mistakes

Guest Post by Chris Mercer

What are the main tips and worst mistakes of self-publishing with no money?

Self-publishing has become a huge business, with it having grown by about 400% between 2010 and 2015 alone. Some even manage to make it big.

According to a story in the New York Times from 2016 there are 40 authors who have sold a million copies on Amazon.

Okay, that’s not a lot, particularly considering that in the same year 700,000 books were self-published. But it does mean it’s possible.

And besides, to begin with, we don’t have to publish a million books.

Most of us are happy with selling some multiple of a thousand (okay, a high multiple of a thousand). That fortunately, is far more achievable.

But to do so, you do have to do a few things and avoid doing some others.

Below are a couple of DON'Ts and a couple of DOs

Don’t think that when you’ve published your book you’re done.

Yes, writing that book was incredibly hard. It took a lot out of you. And really, you’d like to move on to the next one now that it’s finished.

The truth is, however, that you’ve barely gotten started.

Now that you’ve written the book what you need to do next is market it. And that is just as much work as actually getting to that last page.

In fact, it’s probably more work because if you’re anything like me, the writing is what you enjoyed and the marketing is something you really don’t want to do.

But if you don’t do it, your book will never climb the rankings. Your book won't sell.

There are just too many books out there and most of us use the shorthand that we only buy books we’ve heard about and we’ve heard good things about.

Very few people go through the dark corners of the self-published books to decide on what book they’ll buy.

Don’t use one of the self-publishing companies

Most of these companies make their money off the money you pay to publish your book. That’s their main source of income.

While some of them, like hybrid publishing companies, do make money if they sell copies of your book, the truth is most self-published books don’t sell. And so, on average they won’t recoup the money they invested in publishing your book.

In fact, often self-publishing companies have a conflict of interest.

These companies make their money from you. And to boost their profits, they may also be looking to cut corners.

They may not hire the best editors or illustrators, or other workers.

The less they spend on making your book look good, the more of your investment they have left over. So, what you want and what they want are at odds. Hence why I mentioned the conflict of interests.

My suggestion is to research book designers, book publishers, and distributors carefully.

It might be wiser to hire individuals or separate companies to work on the different elements of production.

Build a following

The best way to be successful as a self-published author is to already have people who you can sell your product to.

To do that, you should build a following.

After all, you don’t have money and you do have words, so use the words to push your product, be it a book, an AMA citation generator, or anything else.

You might be tempted to write the book first and then push up your platform. That’s fine if you’re alright with waiting a few years with your sales.

If you would like to start getting some sales immediately, however, then you should definitely start building up that following now.

Build a page. Share some excerpts, insights and ideas from your book.

Build a following on social media and push it relentlessly.

Yes, again, it will be a lot of work.

There is one big advantage of doing it this way, though. Once you’ve got that following you don’t just get to push the first book, you also get to push everything else you’re going to write in the future as well. In fact, each new book builds on the success of the last.

Keep at it

You hear about people who get famous in a day all the time.

But the truth is, most people get famous over a lifetime (yes, even those people who get famous in a day have often been building towards that for decades).

So keep going. Don’t get discouraged if that first book doesn’t sell immediately (or ever) it is still your property.

What’s more, you’ve learned some vital lessons writing it, which you can apply to the next one and the one after, building a reputation all the while.

Another thing to remember is that while it might seem like famous people walked a road that led straight from being unknown to being famous, they didn’t know they were on it when they weren’t famous yet. They, just like you, didn’t know where their big break would come from (or if it would come).

So keep at it. The biggest difference between those who make it and those who don’t is that the ones who do didn’t quit. 

References

https://publishingperspectives.com/2016/09/bowker-isbn-self-published-us/
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/31/business/media/meredith-wild-a-self-publisher-making-an-imprint.html


Chris Mercer, pro writer, developer and founder of Citatior, a powerful academic formatting tool for the students.


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Barnes and Nobles and Self-Publishing

There’s now a Barnes & Noble Press (a self-publishing suite).

I guess it’s their take on Amazon's KDP.

When I first hear about it, I was thrilled, especially since Createspace is getting rid of their author services. But, I'm not quite sure if it will be similar.

With B&N,  you can upload your manuscript in a Word doc format, fill out the vendor information forms, and they will publish it into an e-book.

They say that within 72 hours or less, your e-book will be available for sale at BN.com and “all Nook reading devices and apps.”

It is a little more involved if you want a POD book in that you, as far as I can make out, will need to “prep your manuscript files, upload your interior page” as well as upload the front and back covers.

I wish they were more explicit in their promo as to whether they offer author services. They do mention a suite of tools rather than a suite of services, so I’m not sure. But, it's probably a DIY thing.

If you’d like more information on the topic, go to:

http://www.barnesandnobleinc.com/press-release/barnes-noble-announces-barnes-noble-press-enhanced-self-publishing-suite-reach-millions-barnes-noble-readers/

https://press.barnesandnoble.com/author-tools-and-tips/bn-press-path-to-publication


Karen Cioffi is an award-winning children’s author and children’s ghostwriter/ rewriter. For tips on writing for children OR if you need help with your project, contact me at Writing for Children with Karen Cioffi.

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Press This! Part 2

In Part 1, I describe the Pro's of using a Press to publish your book. This post contains the Con's. The big Con for me is that they don’t do any marketing. I didn’t realize marketing was such a HUGE part of having a book for sale. I know, gullible me. Create it and they will come. Not! Anyway, I paid them an extra $300 for a Press Release that got me only scam-type phone calls and emails. And another $300 to take my book to the New York Book Expo. They said I would get the poster that was used at the Expo to use for my own events. I never got the poster. I’m not sure there ever was a poster. 

In addition, as part of my package, they had sent me wonderful sample letters with addresses and even names of who to contact at major bookstores for me to send my books to request to be placed in their stores. Only Barnes & Noble replied and said they couldn’t take my book because it didn’t have the title on the spine. I almost spit nails! Why would this Press not tell me that the book is too small for a title on the spine and send me names of places to request my book be placed when there’s no way that it would be accepted? I was really devastated. 

Also, their minimum order of books was 250 for me to purchase upfront and sell at local events. The cost for that order was $1200. You can quickly add up how much I’m in this for--$4300! You can guess that I haven’t made that money back yet.

So, I was gullible yes, but they did deliver on a quality product that I could not have done on my own. I had no connections to other authors, no local groups, no online groups. I needed help and help they did give. Had I stuck with the original plan of $1776 with no additional add-on’s, except editing but they should edit your book for $1776, just saying, and if there was no minimum order so I could have ordered maybe 50 books, this would have been a more affordable option. I would have been in for under $2000. Still expensive but not break the bank, expensive.

However, once I had that book in my hand and I began networking, I found all sorts of helpful authors and groups and can now bring a professional book to market for under $1000, sometimes under $500 (depending on how much editing and formatting I do on my own). 

So, in conclusion, the con’s are that it is very expensive (especially when there’s another way to do the same thing) and if you’re not careful, you can be taken for even more expenses than are necessary. And please, do NOT ever pay a Press to market your book. They don’t really care about marketing your book. They only want what's in your pocketbook!

I don't want to leave you thinking all Presses are bad; they most certainly are not. Some local small presses can be wonderful. They tend to have more reasonable prices and they are people you can see and meet with which makes them much more accountable to you. Also, they do care about your book sales because if your book does well, so do they. 

So, in the end, it's really about finding the right people to do all the different parts of bringing a book to life such as creating a professional cover, professional editing/proof-reading, and formatting. Or, of course, you can learn to do some of these things yourself. I know a few authors who create their own covers and do their own formatting. It is recommended to have a professional edit your manuscript, so I wouldn't try to get along on my own with that. 

Bringing a book from your mind to real life is a wonderful process and now with all the access to self-publishing, it's easier than ever to make that happen. Think through your options, network locally, do your research, and make the choice that is right for you to publish the book that is in your heart!

Wanda Luthman has her Masters of Arts in both Mental Health Counseling and Guidance Counseling from Rollins College located in beautiful Winter Park, Florida. She worked at a local Community Mental Health Center for 10 years before transferring to the Public School System as a Guidance Counselor. She’s worked at a High School for the past 18 years. She has also been an Adjunct Professor at the local Community College and worked with teens who had lost a loved one through Hospice. She has always loved reading and writing and wrote many books and poems as a child growing up in Missouri. She presently resides in Brevard County Florida with her husband of 21 years and 2 dogs. Her daughter is away at college. You can follow her on her blog at www.wandaluthman.wordpress.com



To read Part1 - the pros of using a Press - click the link:
Self-Publishing – Press This! Part1

Self-Publishing: Press This! Part 1

As you might surmise from reading the biographies of the other women that post on this blog, I'’m the newbie. I self-published my first children'’s book in 2014. I used a Press. There are pro'’s and con’'s of publishing with a press so, I'’d like to share my experience with you. Then, you can make a more informed decision for yourself.

 I had written about 10 books when I was a child. Nothing that I would publish today but the dream to be an author was alive and well when I was young. I loved stapling my little book together and showing it off to my family. I always knew I wanted to write a book for publication. People would ask, ‘where do you see yourself in 5 years?’ and I would always say, ‘I will have published a book.’ I didn'’t know what kind of book, but I knew I would do it one day. 

 I had worked for 10 years as a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and thought I might write a self-help book. But, nothing ever came to me to write on that topic. Maybe one day though. However, once my daughter started kindergarten and I was going through a pre-mature empty nest syndrome, another parent of a kindergartener asked me what I really wanted to do. Of course I said, “write a book!” She encouraged me by telling me she knew someone that published a book and she would get them to help me. That, apparently, was all I needed. A children’'s book came to me one morning and I didn'’t stop writing until I was done. I worked on it some more, making it into a chapter book and polishing the ending. But, by then, my friend said her friend couldn'’t help me. My little dream went up in a puff of smoke.

 But, then an email landed in my inbox asking, “"Have you always dreamed of publishing your own book?"” How many of you can see “"gullible"” written all over my forehead? Now, don'’t get me wrong, I'’m not saying publishing with a Press is a bad thing. They can make dreams come true. So, I responded to that email. Publishing a book through this Press was expensive; at that time nearly $1500 for them to help my dream become a reality. I didn'’t have the money. However, I do get paid an additional fee for working extra hours in the summer (I work in a school). So, I told them I would save my money this summer and be back. The next summer, the price had risen to $1776 (it did happen to be July 4th). I knew I had to jump at this deal before it went any higher. I had done my research and they were a reputable company. This is an important step if you choose to publish through a Press. Please, please, please do your research and be sure they are reputable. I worked with a man who was super nice and I added some additional services like editing and things that seemed important— and that caused the price to zoom up to $2500.

 I paid them in payments and they worked with me to create a beautiful cover that I loved; they edited my book to a professional level; they secured the copyright and ISBN; and they put my book up on Amazon, B&N.com and other affiliated online bookstores. These were all things that I didn'’t have the ability to do or didn'’t know how or didn'’t know who to hire to do it for me. I was and am very grateful to them for bringing my first book to reality.

Wanda Luthman has her Masters of Arts in both Mental Health Counseling and Guidance Counseling from Rollins College located in beautiful Winter Park, Florida. She has worked at the local Community Mental Health Center, the local Community College, Hospice, and is currently a Guidance Counselor. Her calling in life is to help others be their best selves.  She writes magical, whimsical, adventure books that delight and inspire children. She has always loved reading and writing and wrote many books and poems as a child growing up in Missouri. She presently resides in Brevard County Florida with her husband of 22 years and 2 dogs. 

To read Part2 click the link: http://www.writersonthemove.com/2017/05/press-this-part-2.html  

 You can follow her at www.wandaluthman.wordpress.com

Help Finance Your Book (Without Guilt!)

Run Ads to Help Finance Your Electronic or Self-Published Books
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By Carolyn Howard-Johnson

I hate the word “monetize.”

I especially don’t like it when this word (it’s really ugly, isn’t it?) is mentioned in the same breath with books. But I’m going to talk about it anyway because, if authors do it right, using ads in their books or other promotional materials can subsidize the cost of publishing a book, costs like great editing, great cover design and great indexing they often scrimp on.

Most every author is self publishing something these days. If not their books, then e-books or white papers that help them promote their work. Many of these books are perfect for paid ads and ads in barter. Think about trading an ad for another service you need like a blog tour, bookcover art, or printing.

Ads like these are becoming more accepted if they are focused on the book’s target audience. The LA Times reports Amazon will put ads in some Kindle readers and that they then sell those readers at 18% less than the ad-free same device without ads that retails for about $114.00. 

Ads in disguise have been used in literary journals and other books for years. They usually come as an order page or a list (subtle or not-so-subtle) of related books that might interest a reader.  Some of the ads Amazon is using will not only give you a discounted Kindle, they may give you other money-saving resources.  So, if you decide to put ads into your books, how would you do it?

~Put the ads in the backmatter of your book.
~Accept only professionally produced ads.
~Accept only ads that would interest your target audience. Be prepared to refuse some with the “not quite right” phrase that literary journals use to pass on submissions.
~Limit the number of adds to just a few.
~Encourage ads that give discounts or freebies so that the ads are seen as an added value by your readers.

When you use ads this way, your reader benefits. They learn about new resources and special discounts and the discounts they get may even help pay for the book (yours!) that your reader just bought.

If you are uncomfortable with this idea, start small. Start with your promotional e-books. Then move on. Eventually your readers may benefit from ads in your full-fledged, honest-to-goodness paperback or hardcover book!

PS: Anyone with a product (yes, books are products!) or a service that would appeal to readers of The Frugal Book Promoter may e-mail me (HoJoNews@aol.com) for details of how we might partner on something like this for one of my new releases. Spaces are limited.

Carolyn Howard-Johnson is a novelist, poet, and the author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers (http://www.howtodoitfrugally.com). That site includes a huge section of Resources for Writers. She also blogs writers’ resources at Writer’s Digest 101 Best Websites pick www.sharingwithwriters.blogspot.com. Her newest book in the #HowToDoItFrugally Series of books is How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically.

Self-Publishing - 3 Tips to Help You Avoid the ‘I Want It Now Syndrome’ (What’s a ‘Wannabe’ Author to Do?)

By Karen Cioffi

Self-publishing is a ship everyone wants to sail on. And, for good reason. This publishing avenue is quick and cheap.

Yes, self-publishing is fast. There’s no more submitting to a publisher or multiple publishers and waiting for (possibly) months for a response. Will they accept your manuscript that you’ve been working on for months, maybe years? Or, will they send you a generic standard rejection letter? Either way, the time waiting for an acceptance or rejection isn’t fun. With self-publishing, as soon as your manuscript is ready to go, it goes.

There are lots and lots of places to publish an ebook. And, you can publish with more than one service. And, you can sell that ebook right from your own site. That’s pretty convenient.

In addition to being a quick process, ebooks are cheap to create and publish. If you do everything yourself (aside from editing), it will cost nothing. In the event you need help, services like Fiverr have people who will help you for a very, very reasonable price.

But . . .

While it’s obvious to see the benefits to self-publishing, these benefits have one drawback in particular: everyone thinks they can write a book and self-publish it, whether or not they have the skills to write a book and whether or not it’s a quality product.

Part of the problem, possibly the main problem, is the 'I want it now' syndrome that self-publishing lends itself to. New authors don't want to take the longer 'proven' road of learning the craft of writing and having their manuscript edited before publishing.

This ‘problem’ does all authors a disservice. It lessens the validity of self-published books as a whole. Readers (buyers) never know if the book they’re buying was done professionally or if it was carelessly slapped together.

So, what’s the solution?

Well, there are three basic strategies to use when thinking of writing a book and self-publishing:

1. Learn the craft of writing.

The first thing a ‘wannabe’ author needs to do is learn the craft of writing. This isn’t to say you must get a MFA, but you should take writing courses and belong to writing groups.

2. Join a critique group.

The second thing is for the author to join a genre appropriate critique group. Having your manuscript critiqued by others helps with grammar, clarity, storyline, characters . . . you get the idea. Critique groups help you write your book. Those extra eyes will catch things in your manuscript that you glaze over.

3. Hire an editor.

The third thing the author should do, after the manuscript is as ‘good’ as she can get it, is to find a reputable editor and have it edited. It’s easy for an author to think she’s found all the errors in her manuscript, but in actuality, this is almost impossible to do. As the author, you’re much too close to the work to see it fresh and with unbiased eyes.

Self-publishing is an amazing opportunity for authors, but it needs to be done responsibly. Authors need to take the readers and the industry into consideration when venturing into it.

4. Bonus Tip: Hire a professional illustrator or graphic designer for the cover.

What’s the first thing a reader will see when looking at your book? Yep, the cover. The cover can be the determining factor as to whether that person will pick the book up to look at the back cover and/or buy it.

There’s almost nothing worse in self-publishing than having an amateurish, cheap looking book cover. If you have to cut corners, do it elsewhere - invest in a quality cover.

Summing it Up

Instead of being one of the “I want it now” authors, be one of the ‘I want it, but am willing to work toward it’ authors.

And, keep in mind that for content marketing this is even more important. While writing your own book or ebook is a savvy marketing strategy, you will need to create a quality product if it's to do its job of building your authority and credibility. Always do it right.


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 Want more followers? Want more subscribers? Want more sales?

Then you have to check out my new BLOGGING SMART VIDEO WORKSHOP through the Working Writers Club.

This hour long workshop will show you how to get more website visitors, more authority, and more sales. And, there are 3 bonus lessons . . . and, it's only $20. You can't go wrong.

Self-publishing on Smashwords

Self-publishing on Smashwords

Guest Post by J.Q. Rose

With the advent of this new age of e-book technology, you can publish your writing easily and quickly at Smashwords.com.( https://www.smashwords.com/) Founder Mark Coker describes Smashwords as a distributor because the e-book you publish on Smashwords will be distributed to the world’s largest retailers. It costs you nothing to produce the e-book or to have it distributed. You do give up a percentage of the e-book sales for the privilege of having the book available for purchase on Smashwords.

I chose to self-publish my non-fiction e-book for middle grade girls, Girls Succeed: Stories Behind the Careers of Successful Women, with Smashwords because the e-book is published on-line in many different formats and available to readers all over the world. I also wanted this e-book about careers to include hyperlinks so readers can immediately access information about the woman I interviewed and about her career.

Once the formatting meets the standard for Smashwords, the title becomes available for sale on Smashwords. I chose to wrestle with formatting my e-book, but Smashwords maintains a list of providers who will format your book for forty or fifty dollars. If you want to have wider distribution to other online booksellers such as Kobo, Apple, B & N, and Sony, your book will have to pass strict guidelines in order to deliver the best product to online booksellers. I have heard some authors say not to use Smashwords because they are too particular. I can only ask, “Don’t you want to deliver the sharpest book you can to your readers?” I do.

Before publishing, I suggest you download the Free copy of founder Mark Coker’s Smashwords Style Guide.( https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/52) Everything you need to get your book through the “meatgrinder” is included in the book. The meatgrinder is the lovable name Coker calls the process of turning your finished manuscript uploaded as a Word file into the many formats necessary for the various e-reading devices now available to readers.

I studied Mark Coker's extensive Style Guide and followed each step carefully in my manuscript.  When I was ready to upload the file, his constant warnings about remembering to do this and don't forget that rattled in my brain. Taking a deep breath after filling out the form for Smashwords, I clicked on "upload the file" and crossed my fingers. I was told I was #16 in the queue.  I checked email and Facebook and surfed the Internet to get my mind off the fact that I had dumped my pure and perfect word file into the Smashword meat grinder.

When I returned to the screen on my Smashwords dashboard, a list of problems appeared that needed to be "fixed" before they could okay the e-book for sale. Actually they were easy fixes--more than four returns on the title page, using a table which is a no-no for this publisher, and a few stray tabs I'd missed. I re-submitted the file and jumped for joy when I saw conversion complete. It was available for sale on Smashwords.

I have to admit I had a difficult time passing the review to get into the premium catalog because I could not get the Table of Contents to link correctly. A linked Table of Contents, a helpful addition in non-fiction works, is a plus only available in e-books. Readers can click on a link and jump to the chapter they want to read.  I finally discovered the error after I downloaded the Adobe Digital Reader and checked the e-pub version.

After publishing, Smashwords allows authors to assign coupon codes to be used toward discounts or giveaways of your e-book to reviewers, fans, and for promotions.

When you’re ready to share your writing with the world, Smashwords is a good way to go to dip your toe into this vast and wonderful world of self-publishing.

BIO: After writing feature articles in magazines, newspapers, and online magazines for over fifteen years, J.Q. Rose entered the world of fiction writing with her first published novella, Sunshine Boulevard, released by Muse It Up Publishing in 2011. With Girls Succeed: Stories Behind the Careers of Successful Women she returns to her first love, writing about real people.  Blogging, photography, Pegs and Jokers board games, and travel are the things that keep her out of trouble. Spending winters in Florida with her husband allows Janet the opportunity to enjoy the life of a snowbird. Summer finds her camping and hunting toads, frogs, and salamanders with her four grandsons and
granddaughter.

Connect with J.Q. Rose online at
Girls Succeed blog http://GirlsSucceed.blogspot.com/
J.Q. Rose blog http://JQRoseAuthor.blogspot.com/

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Jumping Head First into Publishing

Guest Post by Bonnie  Rokke Tinnes

Several times during my life, especially after I graduated from Bemidji State University in Minnesota as an English and Russian teacher, I wanted to be a writer, but something always got in the way of the time and energy I needed to actually sit down and produce something of worth. I taught school for a while.  Then my husband and I were married and I worked on our farm.  We had children who took a lot of my time.  After my husband became ill, I returned to school, attaining a nursing degree from the University of North Dakota just in time to take over as breadwinner and caregiver.

We were lucky when I was given a job as a registered nurse in a Minnesota state hospital for mentally ill adults in the middle of lake country, which was the one thing that made moving and taking the job inviting.  The demanding job stressed and stretched my nerves and energy to their max so when I was home, I’d sit down at the computer and try to change my thoughts and mood by writing something of worth, something that was beautiful.  Writing had become a survival technique taking me away from the harsh realities of what seemed a cruel and heartless world.

Lucky me, I bought my first computer a couple of years after I moved here in 1995.  After I learned how to use it, I found it the best tool a writer could ever have.  It was easy to write, delete, cut, copy, and paste, quite different from sitting at the typewriter ruining paper with typos and other mistakes.

It was after retirement that I became more serious about writing.  Having a lot of time on my hands, I began organizing all those pages of thoughts I had worked on for years, many about my childhood and growing up in the middle fifties on a farm in northern Minnesota.

Book signing
Franklin Arts Center,
 Brainerd, Minnesota

I hired someone to edit my work and began writing Growing Up Margaret, a story about three sixth grade girls growing up in rural Minnesota in the mid- fifties who become best friends.  Following that, I wrote Margaret Inc, a story about the girls’ seventh grade year, which is my second book in a trilogy I plan about Margaret. These books appeal to anyone from middle school to those who grew up in the mid- fifties because they portray the culture, setting, and time in history realistically.

 During my lifetime, I had also written numerous poems and organized some of my nature poems into a book called Snow Presents and Poems.  I also plan to organize more of my poetry for future publication.

Not getting any younger and having all my poems and stories in my computer or on copy paper, I began to dream of having them published.  I knew that if I didn’t do something, all my work would be in vain if something happened to me, and I wanted to leave these stories to my grandsons.  If I wanted my dream, I needed to jump in myself and try something because I was finding it almost impossible to get my foot in the door of a publisher, and I didn’t have time to waste.

 During July, 2010, I attended a Highlights Foundation writers’ workshop at Chautauqua Institution, Chautauqua, New York. It was an educational and rewarding week, and I learned what I needed to improve my writing for publication. The manuscript I submitted at Chautauqua to my mentor, published children’s author Helen Hemphill from Tennessee, was Margaret Inc.  I was pleased and encouraged when she said that my writing was almost there and would just take some tweaking.  She also said that I had strong characters and plot.  What I needed was to use more dialogue and to show more and tell less what was taking place in the story.  Hemphill’s works include The Adventurous Deeds of Deadwood Jones, Runaround, and Long Gone Daddy. 

I probably rushed the submission to a publisher when I returned home.  It came back to me with a note that said that my writing was probably too Midwestern to sell nationally.  The editor suggested I publish it locally.

With the help of my editor, I continued to perfect my writing.  Since he was older, I also enlisted a younger reader for a second opinion.  Between the two of them, I was able to tweak and polish my writing, making it acceptable for publishing.

I studied published books and learned how to set up the title page, dedication page, and all the other introductory pages.  I learned how to set up page breaks so a new chapter began at the top of its own page. I even went to the internet for an ISBN number and also uploaded my manuscript to the Copyright Office, paying for the whole thing electronically.   I was learning and doing things I’d never done before and even enjoying it.

When I felt everything was ready, I uploaded my book to Amazon.com for Kindle, and it worked.  Once it was uploaded, I could see how it looked and make adjustments before I saved it for publishing.  It took a few times, but it was finally uploaded as I wanted it.  Next, I uploaded to Barnes and Noble for Nook.  And just like that, I was published.

It didn’t end there.  Some people wanted a hard copy, a book they could hold in their hands.  I am not an illustrator so I found a website, Dreamstime.com, and there I found photographs that I could pay very little for the right to use on a book cover.  I hunted through them until I found the perfect one for each book.  I searched the internet until I found a reasonably priced, good printer, DiggyPOD, in Michigan who would print as many books as I wanted at a time.

Before I ordered any printed books, I went to Facebook and to my email and asked my friends if they’d buy a book if I printed some.  I received enough monies to pay for the first printing.  They kept their word, and they also loved the books.

Tuesday, September 4, I had my first books signing right here in Brainerd, Minnesota, at the Franklin Arts Center.  It was thrilling to watch as people bought my book.  I also was featured in the Brainerd Dispatch’s magazine, HerVoice, 2012 fall issue. 

  A good friend once told me, “Everyone wants to be a writer, but no one wants to do the work.”  He should know because he teaches college writing.  I can tell you from experience that those words are true.  None of it was easy, but it was worthwhile.  It took jumping in head first and a lot of guts, but I am happy where I am today as a writer. I just told my husband that I am beginning to feel like an author.  

Please visit my website www.bonnierokketinnes.com.  There you will learn more about my writing and me and also how to get in touch with me.  I would love that.

--Bonnie Rokke Tinnes

To Be or Not To Be--A Self-Published Author

How To Publish A Book?

Just under a week ago, Bob Medak wrote an interesting article for Writers on the Move discussing when is the best time to build an author platform. But the last line stopped me in amazement.

"Authors," he wrote, " should have their book published the way they wrote it."

To my surprise, no one even queried the statement, far less took him to task. But as a judge for the recent Global e-Book awards and member of an enthusiastic Kindle publishing group, I have to disagree or at least urge caution on any author thinking of going it alone.

So many potentially good books cannot achieve the success their authors deserve because 

• poor editing leaves muddled sentences, glaring grammatical mistakes and confused plot lines.
• poor formatting renders books irritatingly untidy and difficult to read
• poor spelling and proofreading stop the reader from concentrating on the story or information provided.
• the cover does not have sales appeal.

A reader who is disappointed in the presentation of a book will not buy from the same author again in a hurry.

Advantages of Self-Publishing

• Publish the book the way you, the author, wrote it--but please employ an editor and proofreader.
• Have the last word in the design of your own cover--but consult a good graphic designer or at least visit a site like The Book Designer.

 The designers' comments here on the great range of book covers submitted for awards are helpful and informative and teach what makes a cover attractive to buyers.

• Check and recheck your formatting till it is absolutely perfect.
• You have complete control over your own work. 
• You can publish as fast or as slowly as you like. You make your own deadlines.
•  You have the joy of learning all the ins and outs of the business.

Advantages of Traditional Publishing

•  The editors, proofreader and cover designer will be provided. They are professionals and will advise on what sells.
•   The formatting will be handled by someone who knows the job and the pitfalls.
•  A good publisher, editor, cover designer will listen.
•  You will have more time for writing. 

There is of course the downside.

• The length of time between contract signing and publication date.
• Less income as you have effectively outsourced the work of publication.
•  You may not have the book published the way you wrote it but then and again it might just be a smidgeon better. 

 Anne Duguid is a senior content editor with MuseItUp Publishing and   her New Year's Resolution is to blog with helpful writing,editing and publishing tips at Slow and Steady Writers far more regularly than she managed in 2011.