Writing...Just because!

--> Image courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net by Bill Longshaw It’s a good thing I have a curious mind because the deeper I get into the self-publishing realm the more there is to learn. Some days it gets just a little overwhelming but then I either go for a walk, do some yoga or read one of the startling 5-star reviews that have been posted on Amazon already! It motivates me to keep plugging along.   “There’s so much to learn, such as how to do (or hire) cover art, how to format for all the many types of eBooks, how to format for print, blogging, social media, interviews, distribution, marketing, getting reviews, how to choose effective paid advertising, how to choose the most effective price point… it goes on and on. We have a lot of freedom, but every aspect of publishing comes down to us,” said India Drummond on her video blog that I watched yesterday on formatting for CreateSpace. Formatting the print layout for CreateSpace was one of the things I actua...

We're in the final count down to launch for my novel Mental Pause on the 8th and not only is it International Women's Day, it's also my mother-in-law Ruth's birthday. I'm so excited I can hardly breath. I invite you to visit the blogs that are reviewing the book on launch day and the rest of the month, and also doing author interviews and hosting guest blogs by yours truly. Launch day stops on the blog tour include: Adventures in Expatland, Review and Interview Author Interviews with Jo Parfitt Book Readers Heaven - Review and Interview Ravenous Reader - Review Check out an earlier posting on Mental Pause - The Blog for the full schedule . I'll post reminders and links each day of the tour. I'll be posting the Amazon links on the 8th. If you're planning to buy a copy make sure you do it on launch day as I will be donating part of the proceeds from book sales to Room to Read , a charity that builds libraries and schools, publish...

Image from FreeDigitalPhotos.net by Photostock With only 11 days to go until launch day the butterflies in my stomach are getting agitated and the anxiety is rising for many reasons: Will anyone buy my book? If so, will they love it or hate it or (even worse) be unmoved?  and... OMG! How am I going to get everything done in time? When I made the decision in late December to self-publish, March seemed a long way away. The upside was that I had already done huge amounts of research on self-publishing and chosen the path I would take and had a basic book marketing plan already hammered out from my last book, @Home in Dubai . As I look back over the last couple of months I see a lot has been accomplished - final proofreading and edits done, ISBN and bar code secured, testimonials gathered, cover design created , interior page layout done, Kindle template prepared, upload to both Kindle and Create Space successfully performed, electronic and print proofs checked... and...

Image courtesy of Photostock on freedigitalphotos.net As I hurtle headlong towards my self-imposed launch day of March 8 th , the To Do list is waffling between a satisfying series of checks and the inevitable daunting additions that hadn’t even occurred to me! Am I enjoying the process? Absolutely! Is it riddled with moments of elation as well as bursts of sheer panic? Oh yes! And, the unexpected, that every good planner knows should be factored into the timeline (especially when attempting something you’ve never done before).   I always appreciated my publisher of @Home in Dubai (Jo Parfitt at Summertime Publishing ) but I’m starting to have a whole new appreciation. Here’s one item that I thought would take just a few minutes… The Kindle Template I really thought I had this one locked down. I had taken a few online webinars and bought a video series and template and even tested it on a short e-book. I was ready to roll. Not! There’s a little thing t...

How timely is this? As I'm approaching the self-publishing date for my first novel, one of my favorite bloggers launches her book today. I'm happy to post here all the details and am definitely going to get my copy ASAP! Here's the skinny straight from the horse's mouth: HOW TO PUBLISH AND PROMOTE YOUR BOOK NOW! By L. Diane Wolfe   Publishing and promoting made simple! Have you always dreamed of publishing a book but didn’t know where to begin? This book walks you through the steps of identifying markets, budgeting, building an online presence, and generating publicity. Get the whole story on: ·         Traditional publishing ·         Self-publishing ·         Print and e-book setup, formatting, and distribution ·         Finding your target audience ·         Generatin...

Image courtesy of Kittisak at FreeDigitalPhotos.net In keeping with my promise to up date you on the elements of the self-publishing process as I am experiencing it, I thought today I would focus on the critical cover design. This is (or should be) the lynchpin to your entire process. Without a great cover, you don't have an image to draw people in when you're doing your PR and marketing for your book . It has to stand out among not only the myriad of other independent authors who have decided to 'go it alone' but also those who are traditionally published, all vying for the fickle eye-balls of potential readers. A cover has a split second to grab the buyer's attention and draw the reader into the next phase - reading the summary if you're selling online, or the back cover if they're standing in a book store (which is a subject for another blog) and finally to purchase. Hire a Professional Designer Many indie authors choose to go with a self-publishi...

  Image courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net - David Castillo Dominici I’ve discovered that the most important thing to do first, once one decides to self-publish (other than writing the darn book) is to put together a timeline starting with the desired launch date and working backwards to the current date showing on the calendar.   It’s a real eye-opening experience to realize how many moving parts there are to the process. Making sure you have everything slotted on the timeline is critical otherwise that deadline is going to whizz by while you're staring wild-eyed at the ever-growing ‘To Do’ list. This really shouldn’t have been such an earth-shattering revelation for me since it’s what every good event planner or communications strategy developer does every time a new project presents itself.   Since that’s my background, it should have been a no-brainer! It’s now been a little more than a week since I’ve made my pronouncement that I’m going to self p...