Debra L. Martin's Blog, page 338

Interview with co-authors, CK Webb & DJ Weaver

Can you give us a brief overview of your latest book?DJ. Well, Debra, the story is about a string of grizzly child abductions and the 911 system involvement. A lovely group of characters get together to catch the kidnapper and find the children. Can't give you any more information but be assured that there are unexpected twists and turns in this one and we certainly hope it frightens the reader¾ that is our intention.

Did you try the traditional route to publishing, i.e. querying agents/publishers?CK. We did have an agent for a year and a half, but due to irreconcilable differences between us, we parted ways with the agency in February. We felt that it was better for the book and for us under the circumstances.

DJ. Having an agent is not the 'end-all-be-all' for an author. We had an agent for awhile, but decided that we were doing more waiting than writing. A good friend of ours, who is a highly successful self-published author was the inspiration for us to get our work out there. Then another good friend who eventually became our publisher, offered to help us in whatever way she could and we decided to take the plunge.

Do you belong to a critique group? Have they helped improve your writing?CK. We have a review site and also review and contribute to Suspense Magazine, after that there just isn't enough time for much else. If we found one that fit in with our schedule we would jump all over it.

DJ. No critique group but we have several close friends who have read our work and encouraged us tremendously. We live in a small town and it would be hard to find a handful of writers within driving distance. We would love to be involved in something like that but unfortunately it just isn't available right now.

What factors influenced your decision to self-publish to Amazon?CK. As with anything there are pros and cons to indie publishing, but the pros far outweighed the cons. Very simply, we wanted nothing more than to get Cruelty To Innocents: The 911 Abductions in the hands of readers.

DJ. We have talked about our book for quite some time on social media sites and on our review blog, WebbWeaver Reviews. We knew that if the book was picked up by a major house, it would still take months for it to actually get to the public. We just didn't want to wait any longer and didn't see a reason not to go ahead on this route.

Did you hire an editor to review your manuscript before publishing?CK. We were overwhelmed at the thought of having to come up with hundreds of dollars for editing, but knew it was a necessary part of the process. It turns out that our time spent interviewing authors and doing book reviews was beneficial in other ways. We were introduced to an editor through a mutual friend, we did a little wheeling and dealing and traded off some of our services, for hers. We definitely received the better end of the deal, but she seems happy with it and is onboard to edit book two as well.

DJ. Our editor has taught us a lot about the writing process and we appreciate her so much. I can say I feel that editing your own work is a mistake, unless maybe you have an degree and/or have been proof-reading for a living. I think most authors who do their own edits, miss things in their own work. While I don't think it is necessary to have a paid editor, it certainly is necessary to have many eyes go through your work and help you with the editing process. The more, the better.

What have you learned during your self-publishing journey?CK. When we first began writing I believed there were no good writers or stories out there that did not come from one of the traditional publishing houses. How wrong I was. I know now how much work goes into writing, editing and marketing a book and that there are a ton of amazing authors out there who are self published. It is no longer about the route you take to get there, but the story you tell on the way.

DJ. The face of self publishing has gone through a lot in the last three years…all the rules have changed. At one point I would never have considered it, but now it seems the best thing for our book. I do believe that the large publishing houses are going to have to change their SOPs or they may find it more and more difficult to get quality work. It is already happening. Being a book reviewer myself, I'm seeing it more and more often. So many indie authors have wonderful works out there and many meet or surpass the standards set by the larger houses. Shrinking resources and faster technology are nudging out the old way of doing things. We can only wait to see what happens with the future of publishing.

Besides Amazon, are there any other sites where your books are for sale?DJ. Here's a list:Amazon (US & UK & DE)Barnes and NobleSmashwordsSonyKoboDieselAppleWe also intend to have the book up for sale in hardcopy on Lulu, but that will take a bit longer. We'll let everyone know when that happens.

What kinds of marketing [twitter, facebook, blog, forums] are you involved with for promoting your book(s)?CK. Twitter, Facebook, FB fanpages, Goodreads, LinkedInDJ. Here is another list for you; most of our web sites, social media addresses and so forth.http://bit.ly/HWQKWhttp://www.twistedwebb.blogspot.comhttp://www.twitter.com/CKWebb73http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4558456.CK_Webbhttp://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-CK-Webb/154867487887428http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/CKWebb73http://www.facebook.com/pages/Webb-Weaver-Fans/104281169603829http://www.facebook.com/raven555http://www.twitter.com/raven555http://twitter.com/WebbWeavershttp://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2997948-dj-weaverhttp://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-DJ-Weaver/156387674395890

Do you find it difficult to juggle your time between marketing your current book and writing your next book?CK. We will be going into edits for book two in the series, Collecting Innocents, in about a week and once that wraps up and we get back into writing book three. I will let you know. With the blog tour coming up and our writing getting back on schedule, I suspect it will get more difficult and nights will get much later.

What advice would you give a new author just entering into the self-publishing arena?CK. Believe in your work and in yourself, never sell yourself short, DO NOT sign with the first person who shows interest in your work unless you have looked into them thoroughly, edit until your eyes and fingers bleed and then edit some more and last but never least, market, market, market…your book is worth it.

DJ. I agree with CK. If you feel you MUST have an agent, be careful who you sign with. Experience and a verifiable sales record are key points to consider when you are making your choice…and remember, it is YOUR BOOK and YOUR CHOICE!

What's next for you?CK. Edits on Collecting Innocents, writing book three, Avenging Innocents and then we will delve into one of the eleven or so novel concepts we have already begun. I believe it is safe to say we will be writing for many years to come.

DJ. We have more book concept outlines than you can imagine, but I believe we will be writing the third book in the Innocents series next. Hopefully, by the time it is complete, we will have fans clamoring for it. Then, on to other worlds and other characters and situations.

Thanks so much to Debra and David for allowing us to talk about our writing and our up-coming thriller, Cruelty to Innocents: The 911 Abductions, on their lovely blog. We hope we have been helpful and we appreciate them for having us.

New Release: FREEZE by Daniel Pyle

Blurb:A raging snowstorm has stranded Tess and Warren in their mountain home with no power and little heat. When an accident leaves Tess coughing up pools of blood, Warren has no choice but to brave the storm in search for help.



He's afraid he'll be too late.



But what he should be afraid of are the creatures slinking through the blizzard and watching his every move.

Buy links:Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Freeze-ebook/dp/B004YX8RBS

B&N: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Freeze/Daniel-Pyle/e/2940012459985/?itm=1&USRI=pyle+freeze

Daniel Pyle is the author of Dismember and Down the Drain. He lives in Springfield, Missouri, with his wife and two daughters. Visit him online at www.danielpyle.com.

















  

Dean Wesley Smith: WRITERS ARE LOSING THE FIGHT AGAIN

Dean has some valid points here and I totally agree with him.  I can hire my own editor and graphic artist for my books and then upload directly to Amazon and Barnes & Noble myself.  It's not hard to figure out.  There is lots of help out there without signing your books away to an agent turned publisher.  Here's a portion of Dean's post.  





You can read the entire post here: http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/?p=4096







Because of sheer stupidity, writers once again are losing a major fight that they don't even realize they are in.In today's news there was an announcement of yet another agent setting up a publishing company "for their clients." These agents, of which there are many around the world now, are settling on certain terms for their new publishing business.The terms from agency to agency are pretty much as stated in this new article today.Three scary quotes from just today:"…we are becoming partners with our writers.""…will recoup expenses first…""…then share net reciepts 50/50."In just the last few months many agencies have decided to go this way. Many others have been on this road for a time. One major agency has been doing this for over ten years now. In this new world this path is just about the only way agents can see to stay in business.Also, more head-shaking, a number of major bloggers have been pushing this for some strange reason as if it's a good thing for writers.Okay, let me talk math here. Then ask a few questions.Do it yourselfYou put up your own book and you get around 70%, give or take, of the money.Price your book at $4.99 and you get $3.50 per sale.Yes, you might have  to learn a few new things, hire someone to help you with a cover, but folks, this is not rocket science.Make Your Agent Your PublisherNow, go with agents doing the same thing you could do becauseYOU WANT TO HAVE SOMEONE TAKE CARE OF YOU.The agent puts your book up for sale for $4.99.  How much will you get????Let's do the math.— At first NOTHING. "…will recoup expenses first…"That's right. Whatever the agent sees fit to call expenses, those come off the top FIRST.So more than likely that includes the salary of the person doing the work, the cover art, and so on and so on.  You get nothing. And that's if the agent is actually being fair to you. We are talking about agents here, remember. (For a lesson on agents, see Kristine Kathryn Rusch's blog last week.)And remember, that amount for expenses comes out of your share.  (See below.)And wait, do those expenses count the accounting department's expenses every time a new check comes in? Who pays for the accountant's salary?When do the expenses stop????—- Second, "…then share net receipts 50/50."That's right, you get 50/50 split of net after those unknown "expenses."What the hell is "NET?" How is that defined?  Does that deduct the assistant's lunch and everyone's coffee every day???So being nice and assuming that "net" means the amount they say they got from Kindle, then you sell the book for $4.99, money comes in at $3.50.  You give your agent $1.75 of that and you get $1.75 of that.  So from getting $3.50, you get no money for a time to clear expenses and then get $1.75 per sale.Of course, at $1.75 per sale, it might take you years to just work off the "expenses." Because that's how much goes against expenses. Not the agent's half.All because you were too lazy to learn a few new things, hire someone for a flat fee to do stuff you didn't want to do, and take control of your own career.

Review of FOXY'S TALE by Karen Cantwell & L.B. Gschwantdtner

2.25 out of 5 stars

I was looking forward to reading this story because I have read Karen Cantwell's Take the Monkeys and Run.  I thoroughly enjoyed that story and was excited to read her newest book, Foxy's Tale, which she wrote with co-author, L.B. Gschwandtner.

Foxy's Tale is the story of Foxy Anders, a recently divorced woman and her teenage daughter Amanda. Foxy is the ditzy beauty queen blonde who is more interested in shopping for the latest fashions than trying to parent her daughter.  Amanda is going through a Goth phase and is sullen and blames her mother for their current living conditions in a multi-family house near Dupont Circle in Washington, DC.  To make ends meet, Foxy has to rent 2 of the apartments – one to Knot Knudsen, an over-the-top gay guy and Myron Standlish, a bumbling old man with a secret.

I would have like to rate this book higher, but I was disappointed with this book.  The writing styles of each author did not always gel well together. Sometimes the writing was breezy and fun and at other times, it was flat.  Some of the scenes went on far too long and did not advance the storyline.  Also there were continuity problems.  For example, in one scene Amanda's backpack is inside her apartment and in the next scene, her backpack is next to her.  The worst problem was the formatting for Kindle.  It was all over the place. There were so many instances where the formatting was off—it jarred me out of the story numerous times.

The story could have easily focused only on Foxy and Amanda and their journey to understanding each other.  The whole vampire storyline seems forced to me.  It seems like each author had an idea for a book and they tried to force them together.  There wasn't any real back-story except for a short opening scene to understanding Myron and why he was on his secret mission to find an old trunk.  What were the consequences if he didn't find what he was looking for?  The authors keep saying that time was running out, but never really explained why time was running out.  I think this is a missed opportunity because the character of Myron was likable one.  Without revealing any spoilers, the Nick storyline seemed a bit far-fetched as well.  It could easily have only been a Nick/Amanda storyline and all the teenage angst surrounding their relationship. 

For more than ¾ of the book, Foxy is very self-centered worrying only about her next pair of shoes or dress.  She's not a very good mother and doesn't make any effort to learn how to be a better one.  The world revolves around Foxy and in her mind, that's the way it should be.  When she comes back from a shopping trip in Florida, all of a sudden she becomes interested in her daughter.  Why?  What was the catalyst for this new mindset?

The neighbor Knot Knudson was so stereotypical that it took away the pleasure of reading about him.  I have many gay friends and not one of them would go screaming from a room because something spilled on their shoes.  When the authors focused on Knot's ability to engage and sell the antiques to well-to-do customers, he came across as much more believable and likable character.  He was definitely a fun distraction in the story. 

Foxy's Tale could have been a fun and breezy read if the authors had narrowed the storyline a bit.  Trying to include so many ideas and characters did not allow the authors to flesh out the characters to their fullest and, I believe in the end, did not help this story.



Sometimes it takes more than one book to reach your stride so I will be interested to see where the authors take the story next.  If they keep Myron's character, I for one, would like to hear about more of his story.  He seems like such a sad-sack type of guy, but why?  I would like to see something good happen to him.

New Release: BLOOD OF REQUIEM by Daniel Arenson

Newest release from fantasy author Daniel Arenson.

Blurb:

BOOK ONE: BLOOD OF REQUIEM



Long ago stood the kingdom of Requiem, a land of men who could grow wings and scales, breathe fire, and take flight as dragons. Requiem ruled the sky.



But Dies Irae, a tyrant leading an army of griffins, hunted Requiem's people, burned their forests, and shattered their temples. Requiem fell. This ancient land now lies in ruin, its halls crumbled, its cries silenced, its skeletons littering the burned earth.



In the wilderness, a scattering of survivors lives in hiding. The griffins still hunt them, and every day promises death. Will Requiem's last children perish in exile... or once more become dragons and fly to war?





Buy Links:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004Z8D7TY 

Barnes & Noble: http://search.barnesandnoble.c

om/Blood-of-Requiem/Daniel-Arenson/e/2940012489685





Author Bio: Born in 1980, Daniel Arenson is an author of fantasy fiction, from epic to dark and surreal.



He began his career writing short stories. He sold his first story, "Worms Believe in God", in 1998. Since then, dozens of his stories and poems have appeared in various magazines, among them Flesh & Blood, Chizine, and Orson Scott Card's Strong Verse.



Five Star Publishing, an imprint of Gale, published Arenson's fantasy novel Firefly Island in 2007. Since then, he's written the fantasy novels The Gods of Dream,Flaming Dove, Eye of the Wizard, and Blood of Requiem. Official website: http://danielarenson.com/BloodOfRequiem.aspx

   

Interview with William Brown

Briefly describe your journey in writing your first or latest book:I've written six novels: two were published by main stream houses in hardback and paperback, two are still making the rounds with my agent, one I took directly to E-Book, The Undertaker, and I have two more I'm working on at the moment.   I've also written four award-winning screenplays, one of which was optioned.  My most successful novel, Thursday at Noon, was published in hardback by St. Martins, with a number of paper and foreign editions.  I was always an avid reader, and began writing after I read one too many bad books.  It happened to be an unusually bad one by Clive Cussler, and I said, "Even I could do that," so I started writing.  The Undertaker began with a one-line premise, "A guy opens the newspaper one morning and sees his own obituary."  Then you ask a lot of whys and hows.  The one I'm currently working on began with, "A guy's in the window seat of an airliner coming in to land at O'Hare, looks down, and sees a murder taking place on a roof top below."  Again, a lot of hows and whys.

Did you query agents and traditional publishers?  How long before you got your offer of representation/your first contract?I sent out my first manuscript 'over the transom' to about 40 publishers. It finally got picked up by a small house, but you can't do that anymore.  Back then, there were many independent publishers.  Now, the industry is a handful of large 'entertainment' companies that own all the old imprints.  They'll only look at material that comes through an agent.  The good agencies, in New York, are now the industry 'gatekeepers' and are very hard to get.   

What factors influenced your decision to go with a particular agent or publisher?It would be nice to think that writers have these choices, but 99% simply do not.   You take what you can get, and hope for luck and better days ahead.   

Did you design your cover art?  If not, would you care to share your graphic designer's information?I worked with Rick Capidamonte, a free-lance graphic designer in Honolulu who I was referred to for The Undertaker.  I sent him some thoughts, and we went back and forth on-line for maybe a week with six drafts.  Take a look at the cover; he absolutely nailed it!  And I had a ball doing it.  His prices are very reasonable and he can be reached at capidamonte@gmail.com.  When my hardback and paperback books were published, I had no input.  The first time I saw the cover was on the published book, so doing it myself was very liberating.    

Did you hire an editor to review your manuscript before publishing?No.  I write by re-writing many, many, many drafts, and use my own ear.  My wife and a select group of 2-3 friends read the drafts, mostly for grammar, story flow, repetition, or any 'Clunks' they see.  Also, I must mention Kimberly 'Hitch' Hitchens at Book Nook hitch@booknook.biz gave me invaluable help in getting started and converting my novel to e-book. 

What kinds of social media [twitter, facebook, webpage, blog, writing forums] are you involved with trying to garner publicity for your book(s)?I'd love to do all of that stuff, and I know I probably need to for promotion; but I don't.  It takes too much time away from actual, "butt-in-the-chair, fingers-on-the-key-board writing."  Tweets, Blogs, Forums, and Faces might help me sell, but I keep thinking a good next book would help me even more.  I'm probably going to set up a web site, but I guess we'll see.

Besides Amazon, are there any other sites where your books are for sale?Yes, I can list all of the links, but The Undertaker can be found by searching on the title in the Amazon-Kindle Store, on Sony's Reader, on Barnes and Noble's Nook, on Sony IBook, or on Kobo for the exorbitant price of $2.99.   It's my first e-book, so I decided to start low.   Dollar-for-dollar, that's the best suspense novel out there.

What is the best advice you can offer new authors?Write because you like writing, not to get rich or famous; because you won't.  When I began writing, the publishers and agents all said, "The market's horrible; it's a really bad time to sell a (fill-in-the-blank) book."  They say exactly the same thing now, but e-books may be the biggest change since TV and radio.  Just ask Borders.  How to take advantage of it is the question.  



What's next for you?Writing.  Right now, I have 3 novels I'm working on.  They are all international suspense stories.  One is in final re-write; one will be a needed 'update' of an old one, before I put it out in e-book form; and one is a brand new story, that I'm about half done with. 

  

Happy Mother's Day

For all the mothers out there, have a wonderful and joyous day!  



Mother's Love Her love is likean island in life's ocean,vast and wideA peaceful, quiet shelterFrom the wind, the rain, the tide.'Tis bound on the north by Hope,By Patience on the West,By tender Counsel on the SouthAnd on the East by Rest.Above it like a beacon lightShine Faith, and Truth, and Prayer;And thro' the changing scenes of lifeI find a haven there. 

Author Unknown

The Garden is in Bloom!

I love my yard especially in May when everything is in bloom especially since we had so much snow this past winter.  Here's what the front of my house looked like in February after the snow bank had gone down about a foot. That's my husband standing on top of the mound of snow.





And this is what the back garden looks like now:







and the front garden



Hope your gardens are all in bloom too.  Enjoy the day!

Interview with Vincent Formosa

Can you give us a brief overview of your latest book?My novel sprang from a germ of an idea a few years ago and then went from a 6 or 7 chapter short into a full blown novel once I started plotting things out.

I'm a big fan of the Douglas Reeman, Frederick E Smith style of World War Two novels and because my interest has always been history, aviation and military history it just seemed natural to write something along those lines.

My novel is called 'The Eagles Of Peenemunde' and it is set in May 1944.  It is about a reconnaissance pilot who gets shot down over Peenemunde and we follow his adventures once he is captured by the Luftwaffe. Peenemunde was a restricted test site in Germany for all of their secret projects like the V1, V2 and jets and these form a cornerstone of the plot.

The novel is very much an action piece with a mix of air combat, the specter of the Gestapo and explores the themes of loyalty, the limits of loyalty and how far people will go for one another. This is intertwined with a romance that flows throughout the story and provides the conflict that leads up to the big confrontation at the end.

How much research did you have to do?Quite a lot. Even though my interest is history and military history in particular there is a big difference between knowing general dates and events and being familiar with the minutiae of a particular time and location. One of my main priorities was creating a believable world for my characters to inhabit so I paid a lot of attention to the tech, the setting, slang, rationing, airfield layouts, aircraft and munitions. I felt that that the more convincing I could make things, the more I could pull my reader into the story and take them along for the ride.

Thankfully I've built up a good collection of books on the period but even then there were a lot of things I needed to find out. This is where the internet proves invaluable for research. I was able to contact some veterans groups for certain information while some diligent googling led to me to some very obscure data that I was looking for. I'm quite happy at how things have turned out.

Did you try the traditional route to publishing, i.e. querying agents/publishers?I had a stab at getting published along the traditional route in 2008 with little success. To be fair, looking back, my novel was in nowhere near the shape it is now so that probably explains why they weren't interested at the time. There have been huge changes in the manuscript since then.

At the time I had a small amount of email correspondence with Joe Konrath and spent quite a bit of time reading his blog. Funnily enough, it was revisiting his blog over Christmas in 2010 that convinced me to go the self-publishing route.

Do you belong to a critique group? Have they helped improve your writing?I don't belong to a critique group as such, but I have got a group of people who proof read for me, and we discuss my writing and where the editing needs to come. I've been quite lucky in that regard. I frequent a few forums where I've managed to make contact with a number of people whose profession is the print industry and I feel very privileged that they've given up their own time to help me.

Their help has made a tremendous difference to the quality of the final novel. The importance of a fresh pair of eyes to look on my writing is something that cannot be underestimated. They caught a number of things that improved the flow of the narrative.

What factors influenced your decision to self-publish to Amazon?I was aware of the POD (print on demand) model but hadn't really looked at it. I had the same view most other people do if you say the words 'self publish'. It was only after I read Joe Konraths blog that it crystallized a number of thoughts in my head. One of my proof readers, Heather Reasby had also gone the self publish route with her novels and she gave me some tips as well.

The big deciding factor was I recognized that my novel falls into a niche area. It's not a mainstream thriller and as such if I had been published in the traditional way, not only would I get next to no publicity from my publisher but I'd be getting a reduced royalty for the privilege of getting my book onto the shelves of stores.

When you also consider the fact that more and more books are sold online I decided I had nothing to lose by doing this myself and getting a bigger royalty of whatever success the book has.

Did you hire an editor to review your manuscript before publishing?No, again I was very lucky here. One of my proofreaders was published; another had been a publishing agent so I had an enormous amount of experience there to help me. I made a number of tough revisions to the novel late on during the editing period.

I do consider this one of my strength areas actually. I did cut a number of scenes from the novel and I was quite tough on what to keep and what to get rid of.

What have you've learned during your self-publishing journey?I think from a writing standpoint the biggest lesson is being tough on yourself and be your own worst critic. You have to be able to constantly ask yourself, "Is this good enough, does it make the grade?" and if you do get a proof reader, then you need to listen to what they suggest and also be intelligent enough to divorce your personal feeling for the text from the reality of what people are telling you.

Aside from that, the whole media blitz, marketing thing is a huge learning experience for me. I'm picking things up as I go but I think the important thing is to not rush around thinking I know it all. I don't, so if someone offers advice, then I need to listen.

Besides Amazon, are there any other sites where your books are for sale?It's early days yet, but it will be appearing at Barnes & Noble, Borders Australia, Sony, Itunes, and Angus and Robertson Australia in the coming weeks. I'm not sitting back though, if I can find other avenues to stock my book, I'll look at the possibilities that are out there.

What kinds of marketing [twitter, facebook, blog, forums] are you involved with for promoting your book(s)?When it comes to marketing I am playing catch-up a little bit. Although I have a fairly strong sales background, marketing itself is a whole new game for me.

I have a blog of my own which is not just reserved for articles about writing. I like to mix and match with a bit of politics and thoughts on films, tech, computer games, books and other media that catches my interest.

I've joined a number of forums to announce the ebook and provided a voucher for $1 off to give an incentive for people to buy. I must admit that I'm still not getting Twitter at this time. I have a twitter account but don't really make use of it. I've yet to be convinced about the value of twitter from an author standpoint. On the other hand, if I can convince Charlie Sheen or Stephen Fry to list my book, I imagine the exposure would be much better.

Online I am reaching out to a number of websites asking them to review my book and I'm waiting for hear back from those.

I'm kind of taking a staged response to this and learning as I go. The main thing I think is to get the book out to as many etailers as possible. Once I have that in place, I can start making the announcements of where it is available. Aside from the online stuff I'm also contacting print magazines that cater to the aviation market, like warbirds etc who may be interested in this kind of book to see if they will review it.

If the magazines are positive I may then look to expand to more mainstream publications and see if they will review it.

Do you find it difficult to juggle your time between marketing your current book and writing your next book?At the moment; yes. This initial rush to get it 'out there' has taken up quite a bit of my time the last two weeks. It's a learning process. I'm sure next time around I might be a little calmer about things, but it's been a bit frustrating waiting for it to be approved and start appearing on sites.

To be fair, I may as well immerse myself in the marketing side of things because my brain isn't exactly in writing mode right now. I've lost count of the number of times I've run searches on google to see just how many references I can find online to my novel. I tell you, it's a good feeling to see it come up on screen.

What advice would you give a new author just entering into the self-publishing arena?I don't think I could lay claim to being an expert by any means, but it's been a fun experience. The biggest piece of advice to anyone is to float around the forums for a bit, pick up on what's happening and ask questions. One thing I've found is that people are very willing to help and provide advice. Never be too proud to ask.

I'm quite tech savvy when it comes to computers so I chose to go the do-it-yourself route but it was interesting trawling around looking at the options that are out there to edit and format self published manuscripts. What I would say is take your time in this regard, because you could end up paying out a chunk of money when you don't need to.

What's next for you?More writing. I'm already100 pages into my next novel titled 'Operation Audacious' which follows the adventures of an RAF squadron in Russia in 1942. The last 7 months or so has been pretty intense with the focus being proof reading, editing and revisions, as well as preparing the manuscript layout for print and ebook compilation so it's been a real pleasure to getting back to some actual writing.

I read an article recently that said writing a book is 30% writing and 70% editing and revision and now that I've finished my first novel, I can confirm that this is true.

Dean Wesley Smith Talks Pricing, Discounts & Sales

For those of you who don't know Dean Wesley Smith, he's a bestselling author who has written more than ninety popular novels and well over 100 published short stories.  On his website, he offers advice on a number of different subjects.  I'm reposting his post about pricing in his "Think Like A Publisher" series.  You can find the full post here: http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/?p=3940 





Think Like a Publisher #8 -- As some of you said in the comments, I sort of left this on a cliffhanger talking about how to get the other 79 book outlets to make at least 100 book outlets for sales. Please go read Think Like a Publisher #7 if you have not, or some of this will make no sense. This sales series is meant to work as one large unit.



Alas, before I can go into how to get the other 79 plus sales outlets, I need to once again talk about pricing.  I have done a number of major posts about this topic, so not going into it again here. Go argue price somewhere else if you have a problem.Those of you who think you should price your novel for 99 cents on Kindle and that's it, just stop reading now. You are a discount publisher and I am talking to regular indie publishers.—Discount publishers, both traditional and indie, are a different entity and make money on vast numbers of sales with very tiny margins to a small number of outlets. Discount publishers have no regular distribution or bookstore sales.—Regular publishers, both traditional and indie, make their money in regular sales at regular prices to a vast network of stores and outlets. Regular indie publishers are who this chapter is for.Here is the price structure I suggest for indie publishers and that works in all the math you will be doing.PRICINGElectronic Fiction:…$2.99 for 5 story collections or short novels…$4.99 for ten story collections… $4.99 for novels.(Nonfiction and other projects, including enhanced books are different.)POD Fiction:…$7.99-$9.99 for 125-200 page short novels or collections in trade paperback. (5.25 x 8 inch or 5.5 x 8.5 inch trim sizes)(Note: Price would vary by page count costs. Check the calculators on CreateSpace.)…$10.99- $14.99 for 200-300 page short novels or collections in trade paper. (5.5 x 8.5 inch or 6 x 9 inch trim sizes)(Note: Price would vary by page count costs. Check the calculators on CreateSpace.)…$15.99- $16.99 for 300-450 pages trade paper novels. (6 x 9 inch trim)(Note: Price would vary by page count costs. Check the calculators on CreateSpace. If you can't get your book under 450 pages with leading and font and margin issues, you might think of writing shorter books. I have no suggestion for you except to take the price to $17.99 or higher and hope. Large fantasy novels can go to that length and handle the doorstop-book price. And nonfiction can go that large and handle higher prices.)Okay, we set on pricing? Good, because the above pricing structure works for everything I am about to talk about. Again, check the price calculators on CreateSpace with your trim size and page count to set your exact price. Always look to the Pro Plan number and try to keep the price at least in the 8% and up profit range.