Adam Croft's Blog, page 38

5 mistakes self-publishers make and how to fix them

Now, we’re all human, and we all make mistakes. In lots of ways, mistakes – especially in writing – can be good. They give us a chance to learn what works and what doesn’t. They can teach us things about our own abilities and where we perhaps might need to focus our attention in order to improve further. But when we make mistakes, it is definitely important to take a step back, reflect – and then fix them.

This is particularly true of independent publishing, where you are entirely responsible for your own career and sorting out your own blunders. There are probably as many mistakes out there to make as there are writers in the business. After all, we all have our own special ways of making a bit of a mess of things. However, there are some common issues that we can identify with regards to independent publishing, so let’s take a look at some of them… and some of the ways you could fix them.

Not editing properly

Not editing enough is one of the big mistakes you can make as a self-published writer. When our industry is often criticised for putting out work that is littered with basic errors, it’s common sense to make sure you do your duty and ensure your book is properly edited.

One of the big ways of fixing this mistake is simply to put more time aside for the editing stages of your book. Don’t rush it. Make sure you focus on it rather than being distracted by all the other issues that go along with publishing a book. And don’t always take your own word for it: get other people to look at the book too. If you can, pay for an editor and proofreader to give the work a good going over.

Then edit it some more. Don’t forget the final proofread, either. Typos and silly errors can creep in at any stage of the writing process; don’t get caught out right at the end.

Creating an unprofessional cover

Book covers are another area where independent publishers can fall down. It can be easy to think ‘oh, I’m only publishing an e-book, the cover doesn’t matter that much so I’ll just knock something up myself.’ If you are a technical, graphic design genius, great. Go for it.

If not, step away from Photoshop/Paint/other miscellaneous graphics programme on your computer. Get a professional to do the job for you. The cover is something that is relatively easy to fix, and the expense is definitely worth it.

Not checking the work of external help

However, if you do decide to hire a proofreader/editor/graphic designer, make sure you check out their work first. One of the biggest mistakes you could make is to hire someone who isn’t right for the job. You need to make sure they’ll do right by you and provide you with a good service, so don’t just go with someone who offers you a good price and seems OK.

Do your research. It can take time to find the right people to help you with your work, but it would take even longer to fix the results of a botched editing job. Putting in the effort up front to talk to people and check out the best sources of help is definitely time well spent.

Not formatting properly

Your book looks great in Word, right? That means it’s properly formatted and ready for e-book publication, doesn’t it?

Not always so. Formatting e-books can be oddly fiddly, and there are very precise ways of doing things. Chances are, bog-standard formatting isn’t going to cut it and your work won’t display properly. One way of fixing this is to learn how to do e-book formatting yourself. Alternatively, there are plenty of good formatting services out there, and again, this can be an expense worth shelling out for as it will save you a lot of time and stress in the long run – and it will help your finished product look more professional.

Publishing too early

We’ve saved the really big one until last…. When you’re eager to self-publish your book, it can be tempting to hit the publish button too early. Naturally, you want to get your work out there, but rushing to publish is rarely the right way to go.

If you’re really serious about independent publishing, there is definitely something to be said for taking your time to perfect your work, to learn about the industry and ensure you have a good plan in place ready for when your book actually hits the shelves. Reining in our desire to get our book out there can be a tricky one, but just think how you’d feel if you published your book only to realise it was still home to some colossal errors.

It’s just not worth it. Learning to pace yourself and take all the time you need for your writing is definitely one of the most important things in independent publishing.

The issue of children’s reading

Depending on whether or not you are a glass half-full or half-empty kind of person, you might find the news that, according to a study by the National Literacy Trust, 17% of children would be embarrassed if caught with a book by a friend a little bit disheartening.

On the one hand, it’s extremely sad that any child would feel embarrassed to be seen with a book (books are cool!!), but on the other hand, I suppose we can take heart in the fact that if the statistics are to be believed, 83% of children wouldn’t feel embarrassed if they were chanced upon reading by a friend. While that 17% is undoubtedly important, and no one should ever be embarrassed for reading, it’s still good to see that most kids don’t feel that way.

The National Literacy Trust study also raises a couple of other stats it’s certainly worth being aware of; fewer children are now reading in their own time on a daily basis than in 2005, for instance. Back then, four in ten read every day in their own time. Now it is around three in ten.

Also of note is the fact that more than half of the children said they preferred watching TV to reading, and 22% said they rarely or never read in their own time.

Of course, some children are always going to like reading more than others, while some might see it as a bit of a chore. We could postulate for ages about why children are reading less – they’re doing other things, watching television requires less effort than reading, parents don’t have as much money to spend on books, experiences of reading books at school sometimes leave something to be desired… there are plenty of potential explanations and opinions on the issue, but the one thing we can’t get away from is that it does seem that children are reading less.

And that’s a shame. Anyone who reads regularly knows about the pleasure it can bring, as well as the new viewpoints and experiences and chance to shape worlds and ideas simply by picking up a paperback. Even though there are undoubtedly examples of great kids’ books that helps to get them reading – Harry Potter being the really famous one – it would be great if that reading was sustained.

The great news is that there are lots of wonderful children’s books out there at the moment. The solution might not be as simple as just switching off the telly, but surely making more of an effort to encourage reading and ensuring that children know it is definitely not embarrassing to be caught with a book is something we can all contribute towards.

What do you think? How do you think we can encourage more children to read for enjoyment?

E-book price fixing settlement approved by judge

Here’s an update on the on-going case of e-book price fixing that is alleged to have been carried out by several major publishers as well as Apple. The argument from the US Department of Justice has been that the publishers were actively working to stop Amazon discounting e-book prices, effectively attempting to push up the prices of e-books.

A settlement was approved by a US federal judge on 6th September 2012 with regards to three of the publishers involved in the lawsuit: Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins and Hatchette. They had already agreed back in April that they would refrain from stopping retailers from setting e-book prices as well as ending their deals with Apple, and now a $69m settlement with the US DofJ has been reached.

The money from the settlement is set to be used to compensate people who purchased e-books between the start of April 2010 and May 21st of this year.

Meanwhile, Apple still denies the charges that have been bought against the company and, along with two other publishers – Macmillan and Penguin – is still fighting the case. They argue that the agency model of pricing books, which allows publishers to set prices and distributors to take a cut of sales, is the best option. However, the US Department of Justice argues that the wholesale model that allows retailers to set prices is better in terms of competition.

This is a debate that is set to run for some time, as it looks as though appeals could well be lodged against the approval of the settlement (including perhaps by Apple), so I’m sure we’ll return to the topic again. In the meantime, you can read more about the case and the settlement here, and do feel free to share your thoughts on the subject in the comment box.

Amazon launching Kindle Fire in the UK

As promised yesterday, here is the news from Amazon regarding the updates to their UK Kindle range. The Kindle Fire has already been out in the US for a while, but it’s now set to make its way to the UK – and it could well end up being a competitor for Apple’s iPad.

Amazon is looking to launch two Kindle Fire HD options in the UK. One is sized at 8.9-inches, while the other one has a 7-inch screen. Until now, the US is the only country the Fire had been sold in, with Amazon reporting that it has managed to capture 22% of that country’s tablet market. It will definitely be interesting to see if it manages to replicate that in the UK.

Only the 7-inch Kindle will be available in the UK (the 8.9-inch one will be available in the US from November) and it won’t be here until the 25th October, but interestingly it is set to be priced lower than the iPad and other competitors such as the Kobo Arc, Samsung Galaxy Tab2 and the Google Nexus 7.

Features set to appear on the Kindle Fire include improved internet connectivity, a touchscreen that reduces glare in the sunlight, an HDMI port, stereo speakers and wi-fi antennas.

Another model that is set to launch in the US is the Kindle Paperwhite, which improves the display and allows user to read in the dark through a ‘patented light guide’. For the UK market, meanwhile, Amazon’s basic Kindle model has had a small upgrade as well as a price cut to £69.

You can read more about the new Kindles on the way from Amazon here.

With so many new e-readers set to launch soon, which are you most excited about?

Kobo launching new e-readers

On the same day that Amazon was due to make an announcement about its Kindle range (more on that in tomorrow’s post), Kobo got there first and made their own e-reader related announcement.

Kobo is set to launch three new e-readers in total: the Glo, Mini and Arc. The Arc is arguably the most interesting of the bunch. It’s an Android device that’s set to be released in the UK in November, and it has options for either 8GB or 16GB of storage, as well as a 7-inch screen.

Meanwhile, as the name of the Glo suggests, this e-reader is front-lit, which means that users will be able to read in the dark (which we could see as a sort of 21st century update on that time-honoured childhood classic of hiding under the duvet with a book and a torch, which is nice).

The Kobo Mini, however, doesn’t come with the front-light and the screen is only 5-inches, but as it’s set to be priced at £59.99, it looks to be an affordable, useful option. The Kobo Touch, the company’s current e-reader, is set to continue alongside these new offerings.

You can read more about the new Kobo e-readers here and here.

What do you think? Are you looking forward to the release of the new Kobo e-readers or do you prefer a different e-reader altogether?

What are the cons of indie publishing?

Just in case you haven’t noticed, this blog often features posts in favour of self-publishing – the opportunities it can bring, why it’s a positive thing, tips for getting involved in it and so on. I’m passionate about it and believe that the industry is a great thing for writers.

However, are there any downsides to independent publishing? The pros of getting involved in it are well-known and quite easy to list: you can publish what you want, when you want; you choose how you publish (e-books, print on demand); you get to keep more of the money; you can learn more about the business as a whole. And on and on.

Yet just as there is with any other industry, there are a couple of things that are not entirely as rosy, and it’s definitely worth being aware of the ‘cons’ of independent publishing before getting involved in it. These cons definitely shouldn’t put you off, because self-publishing can be a great thing and no matter what you do you always have to weigh up the positives and negatives, but being aware of them can give you a more rounded view of what it’s like to be in the business.

Distribution

Distribution can be harder with self-publishing. Of course, it’s easy to get your book on Amazon and sell it as an e-book and also sell it in print form through print on demand services, but getting it into chain bookshops can be a challenge. If you’ve always dreamed of having your book in every Waterstone’s in the country, you might be disappointed. Still, there are plenty of alternative options available these days, and as more and more people buy their books online, this is arguably much less of an issue than it was even just a few years ago.

Assumptions

Even though plenty of readers are more than willing to read self-published books and don’t discriminate against them in any way, some still make certain assumptions about them. For instance, you’re probably aware that indie publishing has a bit of a reputation for being not as good as traditionally published books. Undeniably, there are some not-too-brilliant self-published books out there, and it’s unfortunate that these are often taken as representative of the whole industry – especially when there are some proper gems out there. Attitudes are changing and readers are becoming more aware of the virtues of many independently published books, but it’s still an issue we have to deal with.

Workload

There’s also no getting away from the fact that independent publishing generally has a bigger workload for you than traditional publishing. You have to do everything yourself, or put in the time (and money) to find the right people to do certain tasks for you. You have to essentially manage your own business. You might or might not see this as a downside to independent publishing – some people like the ‘business’ bit more than others – but it’s worth seeing everything as a learning opportunity. Certain things might be time-consuming and a bit daunting when undertaking them on your own, especially when you’re new to the business and don’t have many contacts, but they’ll all help to increase your skills in the long term. It can be tricky fitting everything in, and the time it means you have to spend away from the real business of writing is probably the most challenging thing, but more and more it’s something authors are having to deal with.

In many ways, we probably shouldn’t call these issues ‘cons’ at all. They could be a burden – but if you are able to think creatively and see them as things to master rather than things that could defeat you, it starts to make them seem much more manageable. Plenty of authors now have successful independent publishing careers, and while there will always be challenges involved with the industry, the process of overcoming them and finding exciting new ways of doing things is arguably one of the best things about the business.

What do you think?

Planning crime fiction – who’s the murderer?

It’s one of the big questions of crime writing: do you decide at the beginning who your murderer is going to be, or do you wait until you’re partway through writing the book before making a final decision?

This is yet another of those issues on which everyone has a different view. You get some writers who like to have everything planned out in advance and who have a very clear view right from the start of who did what and why. Then you get other writers who plunge in without much idea of where they’re going and figure things out along the way.

It’s all about finding your own methods of working, and making sure that no matter how you choose to write your crime novel, what you ultimately end up with is the right solution. Your murderer could be the very first character you dream up, or the last one to make it into your draft – all that matters is that you’re happy with it once you get to the end of the writing process.

These different ways of working are highlighted in this video, which features various successful crime novelists talking about whether or not they know ‘who did it’ right from the start. There are several different opinions in there, with some not knowing who did it straight away, others planning it out in advance and others knowing the start and the end but not the middle.

It’s worth a watch, and it just goes to show that there are probably as many ways of doing things in crime novels as there are crime writers in the world.

Do the seasons have an impact on literature?

The weather. It is a topic on which any good Briton can talk for hours, and being obsessed with the vagaries of precipitation is practically a requirement of UK citizenship. But does it also have an impact on our literature, and specifically the kind of literature we like to read?

By this, I don’t just mean pathetic fallacy, although that is undoubtedly a part of it. Anyone who has done GCSE English will be well aware of the purpose of setting certain scenes in certain environments or weather conditions for dramatic reasons.

But it could also be argued that the seasons, and specific times of the year, also have an impact on fiction – particularly in terms of reading. Take Christmas as an example. At the time of writing this, it might still be several months away (not that that stops many Christmas promotions cranking into gear around this time of year), but most people will probably be able to identify certain types of literature that are popular around the festive season.

We have all of the usual suspects, of course – snow-based stories and winter-related romances that don’t seem quite right at other times of the year. Spooky ghost stories, particularly those set during the festive season. Stuff involving angels. There’s just something about that time of the year that makes those sorts of stories work better than they usually would.

Valentine’s Day is another example. Perhaps it’s more of a marketing influence than a genuine desire for more romance literature in February, but it’s definitely a time of year that seems to lend itself particularly well to romantic fiction. We also have Halloween for more ghost stories, and the summer holiday season as the time for ‘beach reads’, airport thrillers and so on.

In many ways, it is as though the literature calendar has seasons just as the actual calendar does. Some of the literature we associate with those seasons is undoubtedly relevant and perfect for the relevant time of year. But it would also be interesting to know how much of it is simply down to habit and tradition, just something we do, like buying school uniforms for the kids in August/September and toffee apples in October/November.

What do you think? Do you find yourself reading more of certain types of book at certain times of the year, or do you take a more haphazard approach to your reading calendar?

4 more reasons to give indie publishing a go

We’ve looked before on this blog about the reasons independent publishing is something it’s definitely worth trying, but just in case you’re not yet convinced or are still uncertain about the whole thing, here are some more to give you some food for thought…

It can increase your confidence. I think it’s common to pretty much all writers that we have a fear of failure and rejection. In many ways, that fear can be greater when you look for a traditional publishing deal, as there are more people involved in the process – other people’s money and jobs as well as your own time and prospects. A bit of fear is healthy, but independent publishing gives you the opportunity to take control, learn more about the wider business and try out different styles of writing. Even if you don’t hit the big time, you’ll still have that confidence boost that comes from publishing a book on your own – it’s a great achievement.
People buy stories, not publishers. Plenty of writers dream about getting a publishing contract with one of the big publishers, and there’s nothing wrong with that. However, the vast majority of readers tend not to buy books because they come from a certain publisher. They buy them because they like the look of the book and want to read the story the author has written. As long as you write something people want to read, the lack of a traditional publisher shouldn’t put them off.
It removes the gatekeepers. If you go down the traditional publishing route, there are lots of barriers to entry, from the need to have an agent to the difficulties of finding a publisher to finding the right editor to needing to fit into the wider financial and publishing picture. That isn’t the case with independent publishing – essentially you are the only gatekeeper (well, you and readers). Of course, there are arguments in favour of those gatekeepers (keeping quality up, and so on), but when it is so difficult to get even a great book published the traditional way, independent publishing becomes more attractive.
Keep up to date with your results. One of the benefits of independent publishing is that you can usually track your sales in what is essentially real-time. You also usually get your royalties paid much faster than if you go down the traditional publishing route. Most of us don’t just write for the money, but we still have bills to pay and so it’s nice to know how many books you’ve sold, when you sold them, when you’ll be getting paid and how much you should be getting – indie publishing helps to simplify all that a little.

What are your top reasons for going down the independent publishing route?

Developing precision in writing

For all that writing is wonderfully creative and artistic, it can also be quite a precise discipline. It requires us as writers to write what we mean and to be exact in our writing. It’s a skill that can take time to develop – I’m sure we’ve all got early attempts of stories hidden away somewhere that are filled with vague prose and wishy-washy plots that never quite made it into life.

It’s certainly a skill worth working on, though. It could be argued that fiction shouldn’t always be too precise; there are times when you don’t always want the meaning to be entirely clear, or for certain plot points to be open to interpretation.

Yet there is still a kind of accuracy involved in these situations. Take crime fiction, for instance. You might write a scene in a crime novel where it is supposed to be ambiguous as to whether or not a particular character is guilty of a crime. For that reason, there are certain things you can’t be precise about (their guilt, to name an obvious one).

However, as a writer, you still have to choose the best and most appropriate means of conveying what you want to convey. You have to make sure that the words you choose are the right ones, and that they lead the reader where you are trying to lead them. You might, for example, want to make them believe that the character is guilty before revealing them as innocent later on. You might want to describe their motive in such a way that leaves the reader confused and unsure.

Whatever your intent, you need to be careful in how you do it. That’s where the precision comes in. A lot of the time, making sure your writing is as precise as it needs to be might not even be a conscious things. It’s just something that happens automatically; you decide you need to write a scene about X in order to achieve Y, and the accuracy you need comes out as you go.

There are times though, when in order to achieve what you want to achieve, you do need to give a bit more thought to how precise things are – tricky plot points that could easily end up appearing holey if you don’t handle them properly, for instance. The editing process is another time when it pays to look more closely at all the little details to make sure everything is just so.

Being precise doesn’t mean taking the creativity or fun out of writing; it just means being aware of what you’re writing and how it is likely to come across to the reader. In many ways, it’s a background issue, something to keep in the back of your mind along the way that should shake itself out in the end. But if you’re ever in doubt about how your writing is coming across, it might be worth looking a little more closely and making sure that absolutely everything is exactly as you want it.