This Friday I will be posting a video on my Facebook Page (which as always, will be linked at the end of this post) to reveal the cover photo for my upcoming novel. I will also talk a bit about it and the upcoming release. If you have been following me on here for awhile you know that my plan was to Traditionally publish my novel but I recently posted about the decision to change direction (the post was titled Crossroads/Big News) and to Self-publish instead.
This journey so far has been a bumpy unforgiving road but as I plan to publish many more novels throughout my life, the journey will continue beyond this.
I have been working on so many things to get my current finished novel published. More recently my time has been consumed and spilt between, researching self-publishing and prepping my novel for release. The book cover was made a little easier using Canva (which is an invaluable tool for an author). It turned out better than I expected. I can’t wait to share it with all of you!
As I will be revealing more about the choices I made for the cover as well as some tidbits of information about the name as well, I won’t be talking too much about that here. Facebook is really my epicenter of information for promoting my book. This blog was created to share my Journey as well as writing tips. So, if you want to have the first scoop in regards to my novels please follow my Author page on Facebook. I am also now on Instagram as well. As far as what else I will be talking about on here today is what I have been working on.
In order to get my novel ready I have discovered that there is more to this Self-publishing decision than meets the eye. I started with the research/working on the cover. Research about the steps that I needed to take to get to the release of my first book. There was some misinformation out there and also some that was more relevant to my situation. Deciphering what was the right information has taken some time but research is always well worth it.
My biggest piece of advice for any new author is do your RESEARCH. It may seem boring and may seem like you can figure it out on your own but that is really not the case with everything. The knowledge that is at our fingertips due to the internet would be wasted if we didn’t use it. Other Authors have taken the time to share with the rest of us their perspective on writing as well as any vital info they learned along the way. Most of it was probably things they learned trial by error.
For example, I discovered that what I knew about dialogue when I first started was outdated info and I soon learned the right way to write it. It took some time going back through my novel to get it right but I learned by the research I did and the information other writers were kind enough to share. I can’t even tell you how many edits my novel went through to get to where it is today. However, I can tell you that each bit of research I did helped me grow as an author. Being an author also means being flexible with the idea of doing something a different way. It also means being open to suggestion/criticism and learning and growing from it. That is actually true about not only writing but life in general.
Anyways, my research led me to start investigating the right ways to publish and format my novel. Formatting ugh! The Bane of my existence! If I had know what I know now about the need to set up and format my word document before I started then I would have done it first thing. My first mistake was thinking that I could format after I typed up the entire novel. Then I formatted it as a manuscript to send to agents and publishers after the fact and yes that was a pain! But recently I discovered, since I decided to go down the Self-publishing road that is, is that you also need a ebook format and a print format. These formats make it that much more legible when uploading to Amazon. Or rather it will evidently make everything line up better.
My goal is to upload and scroll through to make sure everything is laid out correctly before launching it. I want it to be a smooth read for my readers. I know first hand based on self-published books I’ve read that there are times when you come across a significant spelling, grammar or format issue that literally separates you from the book, pulling you out of a scene that otherwise would have been riveting.
I’ve also learned that you can purchase what is called a proof copy and author copies. Proof copies are ones that you can get before you publish and they have the line across the cover saying not for resale. They are also just the cost of printing it. Now the Author copies are ones you purchase after you publish and they are at a discounted rate but of course ones that you won’t get royalties from. I plan to take the extra precaution beforehand and purchase a proof to make sure it prints correctly.
Needless to say there are many steps to making sure a book is ready whether it be self-publishing or traditional. The biggest thing I try to tell myself is that I can do it. I doubted myself before and I lacked confidence at times but the key is just to keep moving forward no matter what. Take that chance on your work so others can to. If I can do it then you can. Above all just keep writing…and researching.
If you have questions or would like me to elaborate more on a topic please leave a comment.
As always, thank you for reading my blog…Until Next Time…JUST KEEP WRITING.
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Tiffany’s Writing Journey 