Suzanne Elizabeth Anderson's Blog, page 12

The Write Business: Self-Publishing the Right Way

Today's Writerly Wednesday is a guest post by S.J. Forester, a terrific freelance editor that I met via elance.com. I hired Sean to edit a new devotional I'm coming out with this winter. I liked his work so much, I ended up hiring him for three different projects. Yes, his work is that good. He's meticulous, responsive in providing feedback, and knowledgable about all aspects of self-publishing. 




The most important lesson I've learned in my self-publishing journey is the need to use excellent editors, book designers, and illustrators. Through elance.com, I've been lucky to find terrific people to work with, like Sean. I asked Sean to do this guest post because I've been so impressed with his professionalism and the quality of his work. I highly recommend him.




The Write Business : Self-publishing the right way

By S.J. Forester

















Like all publishing,
self-publishing is a business. You are providing a product to customers in
exchange for their money. Unfortunately, the vast majority of self-publishers
upon hearing tales of vast riches just jump right in without considering all
the work involved. And they turn out a shoddy, unsuccessful product because
they don’t know any better. And this has given self-publishing a bad
reputation. To be successful, you must treat self-publishing as a business. But
what does that business look like?

The following is what all
publishing looks like. Just because the word “self” is attached does not mean
self-publishing is exempt.




First, you start by
actually forming a business. Go to your county clerk’s office and register a
sole proprietorship. Immediately you gain immeasurable credibility. It’s quick
and easy and very inexpensive in most counties. Look like a business.




Second is acquisitions.
This is where the publisher finds stories that are worth telling. Stories that
will sell. As a self-publisher, you should make sure you have a story that
other people will buy before you waste your time and money going through the
whole publishing process. This is easy. 




There
are so many ways to get feedback.






Participate in local or
on-line writing workshops. These can be pretty hit-or-miss, but worst case,
you’ll get practice and develop a tolerance for criticism.




Give your rough draft to
everyone you know who will give you honest feedback. That last bit is really
important. You must get honest feedback. Sometimes it will hurt, but negative
feedback is almost always more helpful than positive feedback. If you receive
no negative feedback whatsoever, then you’ve given your manuscript to the wrong
people. Try again.




And, of course, the best
way to make sure your story is worth telling is to hire a developmental editor.
A developmental editor will start with your synopsis and make sure that your
story makes sense and that there are no glaring plot-holes. He or she will also
give you feedback on marketability and genre appropriateness. After any major
issues are corrected, the developmental editor will then go through the entire
manuscript making notes throughout and writing up a full critique of plot,
characters, and style. The main areas they will focus on will be conflict and
character development. EFA recommended rates are $45-55/hr at ~1,000 words/hr.
However, a good freelance editor will cost about half that, and you should
estimate ~$10-20 per 1,000 words. A mediocre freelancer will be about half
again that.




Next, you have
copyediting (sometimes called line editing). This is where the author and the
editor assigned by the publisher go back and forth on the manuscript until it’s
as close to perfect as it will get. This can involve major rewrites, minor plot
changes, or just grammar and flow. As a self-publisher, you should rewrite and
rewrite until your manuscript shines. Then, go hire a copyeditor. I can’t
emphasize this enough. 




A professional
edit of your manuscript is a must. 




About the worst thing for the success of
your book is a review on Amazon that your grammar and punctuation are a mess.
See above freelance editor rates. I must also emphasize that just because
someone is a writer or English teacher that does not qualify them to be an
editor. There is a lot more that goes into editing that one must be
specifically trained or have experience for




Now, while all this is
going on, marketing is also happening. The marketing process starts at least
three months before release. Send out review copies. Release sample chapters.
Use Twitter and Facebook. Write blog articles. But above all, keep writing. 




There is no better marketing than writing
another book. 




So when you have to choose between writing or marketing, you
always choose writing. Only spend time on marketing that you can’t spend
writing.




Next up is book design. 




This is where a publisher determines how the final book will look. This includes
typesetting, layout, and cover design. This is one of the easiest things to
mess up. A poorly designed book is an instant turn-off to most readers. It’s
also one of the easiest things to do yourself, but it requires significant
technical aptitude and a good amount of time to learn. 




If you are not exceptional with computers, do not do this yourself. 




Because of the huge variety of book layouts (color images on every page to just
plain text throughout), book design is one of the most variably priced parts of
publishing. Mostly it will range from $2/page to $10/page. I myself don’t
charge nearly that much, but that’s because I’m usually also the editor and
it’s not far out of my way to do design at the same time. There is also the
expense of cover art which varies wildly depending on the requested complexity.
Anywhere from $100 to $5,000.




Next, we have proofing.
This a last check through the typeset book to make sure everything looks the
way it should. If you have hired editors before this point, then you should be
able to do this yourself. If you haven’t hired any editors, then this is the last chance to have
professionally trained eyes take a look at your work.




And finally, we have
production and distribution. 




These two are grouped together because they go
hand-in-hand anymore. You submit your professionally designed files to Amazon
Createspace and they produce and distribute your physical book, while Kindle
Direct and Smashwors do the same for your e-book. Personally, I recommend
Lightning Source over Createspace for print-on-demand. LS is more expensive up
front, but far more profitable in the long run. Also, avoid Kindle’s KDP Select program. Its exclusivity clause cuts you
off from 60% of the e-book market. It’s almost never worth it. And it’s not
just that you aren’t making sales to that 60%, it’s that your book isn’t being
exposed to that 60%. People who won’t have the opportunity to know that you and
your books exist. Over the length of your writing career, that’s a huge
disadvantage.




I hope this brief
overview helps. If you need more help, I provide all of the above services, and
usually at significantly lower rates than industry standard. To inquire, email
me at SJ@sjforester.com.







S.J. Forester is an entrepreneur and an executive editor at an indie press. When he is between books and ventures, he likes to freelance as a publishing consultant and editor. You can contact him at SJ(at)sjforester(dot)com.

Writerly Wednesday: NEW ILLUSTRATED EDITION OF GOD LOVES YOU. ~CHESTER BLUE

Front Cover






God Loves You. ~Chester Blue is my favorite book, of all the ones I've published to date. 

Yet, despite glowing reviews, it languishes in last place in my book rankings. 











Back Cover





But I won't give up on this charming inspirational tale.















I finally took the long-ago offered advice of my sis-in-law Kathy, 

and commissioned ten illustrations for the interior of the book and for the cover.




I am over the moon with the results. 




Ursula Andrejczuk, the illustrator 

I found via elance.com, 

has created these beautiful illustrations which truly 

bring Chester Blue's story to life.

I cannot wait to share them with you!

And I will, in just one month...




Chester Blue's story has also been professionally edited, not once, but twice.

Now he's waiting to have a brand new interior design for his book.




Which means he will be ready to make his 'new' debut just in time for the holidays.




***




P.S. Just in case you're wondering when I'm going to stop playing around with my currently released books and bring out something new?




 THREE NEW BOOKS are heading your way before Christmas!




Thank you for your support and encouragement,

Love you guys.

Beer enhanced slow cooker chili for a chilly day

The first crisp days of autumn call for chili. This recipe can be assembled in 15 minutes and then left to cook in the slow cooker, while you watch a football game or go for a leaf watching hike with your dogs.



Ingredients:



1 lb beef stew meat

1 red bell pepper

1 medium onion

1 bottle beer of choice

1 14 oz can diced tomatoes

1 small can of tomato paste

1 14 oz can chili beans

1 14 oz can black or kidney beans

1/2 can chicken stock or water to thin chili if needed

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon coriander

1 teaspoon seasoned salt

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Hot sauce or cayenne pepper (optional)



Directions:



1. Brown stew meat.



2. Chop onion and bell pepper and place in bottom of slow cooker, add browned meat and remaining ingredients.



3. Cook on low for 8 hours, or 4 - 6 hours on high. Taste and adjust seasonings.



Serve with toppings of shredded cheddar, sour cream, frito chips.

Writerly Wednesday: Pre-Made Book Covers from GoonWrite.com

Ta Da! Here's the new book cover for INSPIRED! my first cookbook. I found the cover at www.goonwrite.com a terrific source for pre-made book covers at incredibly affordable prices. 




James has a huge assortment of book covers for every genre, fiction or non-fiction, and your greatest challenge will be narrowing your choice down to just one. 




Of course, as usual, I couldn't decide between two...but in the end I chose this one because I felt it carried the theme of the enthusiastic title.











And I think it's a far-sight better than my 'homemade' book cover. HA!

Meatless Mondays : Omelets Are Not Just for Breakfast Anymore

omelet pre-slide and flip










Omelets are an easy one pan dinner that can be ready in five minutes. Perfect for those nights when you get home late from work and are too tired to cook, but don't want another frozen dinner or overpriced  take-out. Pour yourself a glass of wine to enjoy while the vegetables sauté. Suddenly the cares of the day can slip away and you can enjoy the simple elegance of a well made meal.







Ingredients:




3 large eggs




dab of butter




handful of your favorite vegetable




handful of your favorite grated cheese







Essential Pan: Large Non-stick skillet







Directions:




Begin by sautéing your favorite vegetable quickly in the pan until just soft. In this case, I sautéed five baby Portabella mushrooms (in not-so-meatless bacon fat from the 2 slices of bacon I'd fried first and then crumbled).




Remove vegetables from pan.




Add a dollop of butter to the pan, swirl around to coat the bottom of the pan. 




Pour your whisked eggs into the pan, gently swirl the pan so that the egg mixture covers the entire bottom of the pan, and then step away! 




There's no need to move the eggs, just let them set. You can occasionally tilt the pan and lift up the edges of the eggs to let the eggy liquid move to the sides of the pan.




When the eggs have cooked, gently slip the spatula beneath the edge.




Bring the pan over to your plate, gently shake the edge of the omelet from the pan to the plate. Once half of the omelet is on the plate, let the other half fold over top, forming your half-circle omelet.

INSPIRED! My First Cookbook .99 cents!

Ta da! My first cookbook: INSPIRED! Fast, Easy, Healthy Recipes Inspired by the World's Greatest Chefs, available on Amazon.com for .99 cents.












This little ebook features 30 fast, healthy and fun recipes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. 




As the title suggests: the book was inspired by my cooking adventures through the bookcase of cookbooks that I've collected over the years.




Like these multigrain waffles inspired by The Joy of Cooking.












Or this 4-ingredient chicken pot pie.











Summer pasta, inspired by one my favorite chefs: Ina Garten

















And it wouldn't be a cookbook without chocolate chip cookies!




I hope you'll enjoy my first little cookbook.




I look forward to sharing more recipes in the future.

Reviewer Wednesday : We Need Your Feedback!

Hi!



If you've read one of my books in the past few months, would you take a moment to write a review on Amazon.com?



Reviews are such an important part of a book's success and your reviews really matter to readers (like me!) who read reviews before choosing a book.



Here are the links to each book...many thanks in advance.



Your feedback really does count!



Waiting with God - a 31-day devotional



God Loves You. ~Chester Blue



Mrs. Tuesday's Departure



Thank you!

Trust in God's Direction : Day 5 of the Waiting with God Giveaway

To celebrate  the giveaway  we're doing with the terrific people at  Free Book Friday , each day this week I will be posting a devotional from Waiting with God to give you peek inside this inspiring devotional which was born from my own year of waiting with God.






Day 5




The Lord said to
Moses, “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly
together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water.
You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their
livestock can drink.”

So Moses took the
staff from the Lord’s presence, just as He commanded him. He and Aaron gathered
the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you
rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” Then Moses raised his arm
and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community
and their livestock drank.

But the Lord said
to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in Me enough to honor Me as holy
in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land
I have given them.”

~Num: 20:8-12













Day 5







Trust In God’s Direction







When I read the summary at the start of today’s reading I thought,
why is God being so harsh? Who cares whether Moses spoke to the rock or struck
it? Why should he be denied seeing the Promised Land?

Then I spoke with my 86-year-old mother and she pointed out that
it was a matter of not only obedience, but trust, that God was asking of Moses,
and asking of us.

In fact, as God plainly says, “Because you did not trust in Me
enough to honor Me...” And that’s the bottom line. Trust is essential to
obedience. You can’t have one without the other.

It is impossible to have faith in God if you don’t also trust in
God’s words and the promises that He makes throughout the Bible. And that’s the
greatest challenge we have right now, we need to learn to trust in God.

It’s easy to read the Bible and agree with the lessons, especially
when they don’t pertain to us.

But when we take up the challenge of applying God’s Word to our
lives, it can stop us in our tracks. Yet, as we read in today’s verses, at
times God may withhold an answer to
prayer until we relinquish control of the outcome and put our complete trust in
Him.

Are you willing to trust God with the outcome of your prayers?

If not, what’s holding you back?

Today, talk to God and share your doubts and fears. And see what
He says.








****




Giveaway Details:




All this week we are running a giveaway on Free Book Friday, please click this link and enter for your chance to win one of 5 copies of Waiting with God. 

I hope you'll join us!

God's Blessing is Ours : Day 4 of the Waiting with God Giveaway

To celebrate  the giveaway  we're doing with the terrific people at  Free Book Friday , each day this week I will be posting a devotional from Waiting with God to give you peek inside this inspiring devotional which was born from my own year of waiting with God.






Day 4




The Lord said to Moses,

“Tell Aaron and his sons,

‘This is how you are to bless
the Israelites.

Say to them:

“The Lord bless you and keep you;

the Lord make his face shine upon you

and be gracious to you;

the Lord turn his face toward you

and give you peace.”

“So they will put My name on
the Israelites,

and I will bless them.”

~Num: 6:22-27














Day 4







God’s Blessing Is Ours







What is the first thought that comes to mind when you awake in the
morning?

Are you thankful for another day, or do you wake to worries about
how you are going to make ends meet this month? Whether a child is following
God or following peer pressure down a dangerous path? If that test the doctor
ordered for our loved one, or us, will reveal good news or bad?

We are blessed when we can turn to friends and family to seek
another perspective, or support during trying times.

We can also gain comfort in knowing that God waits with open arms
to offer us His blessing.

God blesses us with peace, with love that is never-ending, and
with the strength to face any challenge.




Knowing that
God is the Provider of Limitless Blessing, I’d like to challenge you, in the
midst of your own trials, to ask how you can bless someone else today.




Is there someone in your life who could use a phone call just to
say ‘I’m thinking of you’, or an elderly neighbor who would welcome a gift of a
homemade meal delivered to his or her door today?

Is there a thrift store in your community that would love to have
a donation of your gently worn clothing to support charities in your community?

I’m giving you this challenge
because I’ve found that when I help someone else, I am blessed with a feeling
joy and gratitude. Try it and see how God will bless you, too.









****




Giveaway Details:




All this week we are running a giveaway on Free Book Friday, please click this link and enter for your chance to win one of 5 copies of Waiting with God. 

I hope you'll join us!

God's Joy : Day 3 of the Waiting with God Giveaway

To celebrate  the giveaway  we're doing with the terrific people at  Free Book Friday , each day this week I will be posting a devotional from Waiting with God to give you peek inside this inspiring devotional which was born from my own year of waiting with God.


Day 3




8 All of those Levites read
parts of the Scroll of the Law of God to the people. They made it clear to
them. They told them what it meant. So the people were able to understand what
was being read.

9 Then Nehemiah and Ezra spoke
up. So did the Levites who were teaching the people. All of those men said to
the people, “This day is set apart to honor the Lord your God. So don’t
sob. Don’t be sad.” All of the people had been sobbing as they listened to the
words of the Law. Nehemiah was governor. Ezra was a priest and a teacher of the
law.

10 Nehemiah said, “Go and
enjoy some good food and sweet drinks. Send some of it to those who don’t have
any. This day is set apart to honor our Lord. So don’t be sad. The joy of
the Lord makes you strong.” Nem 8:8-10
















Day 3







God’s Joy







When we are waiting for an answer to prayer, it’s easy to get
discouraged.

In fact, sometimes it feels like we’re walking around with a dark
cloud over our heads. When we’re waiting, we can’t see an end to our worry, or
our wondering if things will work out.

The worst thing that can happen during our time of waiting, is
that our anxiety can balloon until it becomes all consuming and we are so
consumed with trying to figure out a solution, that we are unable to find joy
in any area of our life.

The first time I heard this short, sweet, verse from Nehemiah it
took my breath away. I was sitting in church, feeling discouraged about a
prayer that I was waiting to be answered, and actually so involved in my own
thoughts that I really wasn’t paying close attention to what was being said.
And then, thank God, this verse broke through my jumbled thoughts and brought
everything into perspective.

When we are in a period of waiting, we might not be able to change
our circumstances or hurry the outcome, but that doesn’t mean that it should
steal our joy... because, as this verse assures us:




The joy of the Lord makes us
strong.




We don’t have to rely on our own strength; God’s strength is more
than enough to sustain us. Lean on Him. Seek God in prayer and ask Him to share
His joy and His strength with you.

God’s joy can fill our days with gladness until we receive the answer
we are waiting for.

Amen!








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Giveaway Details:




All this week we are running a giveaway on Free Book Friday, please click this link and enter for your chance to win one of 5 copies of Waiting with God. 

I hope you'll join us!