formatting

What’s An Author to Do?

Posted on by Brenda Poulos

So, self-publishers, you have written your book and have had all of the creative “fun” in doing so. Then, the real work begins—the cover design, the formatting, the back cover matter, the e-pubs and so on.

And, it’s not just the hours of work involved, it is also EXPENSIVE.

What’s an author to do?

Well, I want to give a shout out to Dave Chesson of Kindleprenaur who has developed two TOOLS that will put you back in the driver’s seat:

Publisher Rocket and Atticus Formatting.

I won’t attempt to explain these two helps, here. I will just say that for the money, they are excellent. Dave has MANY, MANY tutorials on these two and on a number of other topics that benefit authors.

You’ll want to check these out!!!

 Are You Afraid of Getting Bad Reviews?

Posted on by Brenda Poulos

My dad always said, “Sometimes you have to take the good with the bad.” Nothing could be more true than in the case of book reviews.

Authors  know we need them, but we’re also fearful of occasionally getting less than the coveted 5 STARS.

What can we do about it? Or, better to ask, can we do anything about it?

First of all, we can write a book with a compelling story and make sure that it is free of punctuation and formatting errors. It probably goes without saying that the cover should be appealing and professional. Finally, the title should be attention-getting.

But, you ask, how should we respond to negative reviews if we get them?

First, don’t let negative criticism get to you. Read them with an open mind and see if there is something useful you can learn from them. BUT, don’t respond to them. It will only get you into an arguing match and the person and give others reading your comments online a bad perception of you.

Remind yourself that a negative review is just one person’s opinion and that not everyone enjoys the same thing.

Focus on the positive reviews—what readers enjoyed … what they say you did well.

And, by all means, don’t let it stop you from writing!

It’s Decision Time

Posted on by Brenda Poulos

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Will you self-publish or seek a traditional publisher?

These are two different roads, to be sure. You may choose to self-publish if you want to retain more control in the process. Along with that is the fact that you will also do most of the work yourself, which includes the cover, interior formatting, obtaining your ISBN’s, marketing, etc. One hundred percent of the financial burden will be yours, also.

The internet is full of self-publishing options, so read everything you can about them. Talk with other authors. Ask what they chose to do—and if they would do the same thing, again. 

Some of the options offer as little or as much guidance as you’d like and vary widely in costs. Your budget, time available to work, and your technological abilities may dictate which is the best course of action for you.

I published my first three fiction books through Author Academy Elite. You can find out everything about Kary Oberbrunner and his team on the internet. Sign up for a free webinar to determine if this—or a similar self-publishing group—is the course of action for you.

My two interactive picture books for Alzheimer’s patients, I Remember the Seasons and I Remember Bible Stories were totally self-published under my own imprint, Connections Press. 

I made both decisions by listing the plusses and minuses of each option. I weighed them until I was sure that one was the best choice for my situation.

Once I made my decision, I moved ahead quickly. I got the job done.

I still go through the same process each time I am ready to publish a new book. Things in the industry change, my skills improve (or at least I’d like to think they do) and finances are always a consideration. I use what I’ve learned to help me make the best decision for each book.

Next week’s blog post: traditional publishers.

2019 Is Your Year

Posted on by Brenda Poulos

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Editing is the polishing before your book is published. It is at this point that you place your manuscript in the hands of your editor.

So, what are you looking to get for your dollars spent?

Well, it depends on how much you have done on your own prior to this point. Some writers will need proofreading for typos and grammar, others will want a more in-depth analysis of their story to make sure that it rings “true” with the time period in which it takes place. The editor will make sure that clothing, automobiles, literature, expressions of speech, political references, inventions, references to movies, and so on accurately reflect the calendar year (or decade) as precisely and truthfully as possible.

In one book, I researched “rabbit ears” for television reception. In another, the year of the first Cadillac Coupe de Ville was the issue, and so on.

Some editors will also see that your book is correctly formatted. Others will leave that entirely up to the publisher.

Each kind of editing has a fee attached to it. You can contract the editor to do as much—or as little—editing of your manuscript as you deem helpful.

It is at this point, while I am waiting to get my story back from the editor, that I spend time on my cover image and copy. I usually select three covers I like and then run a Facebook contest to chose the winner. This process stirs up some publicity about my upcoming book, which is a bonus.

At whatever point in the writing process you are now working— prewriting, drafting, revising, or editing—I encourage you to keep on keeping on. 

2019 will be your year, if you don’t let anything distract you and you keep moving ahead toward your goal.