Heather Day Gilbert's Blog, page 18

So You’ve Decided to Self-Publish…The Second Step

I’m only going to talk about one step today–early readers–because I feel it’s such an important step for the debut author (and helpful for any author). Quick recap: last week we made sure your novel:

1) Was properly edited. This includes: beta readers, crit partners, professional edits, and self-edits. (To clarify: I consider beta readers a handful of early readers who look for content/character problems–readers you KNOW are in your book demographic). Critique partners can edit for content and/or grammar problems, depending on your primary need. It’s good to have one solid crit partner whose opinion you trust implicitly when it comes to understanding your writing voice and the reason for your stories).

2) Has a kickin’ title and Amazon blurb, and has cover art locked in place.

Once you have polished these elements till they shine, you’re ready to get an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) out to your early readers. This is a traditional publishing term, but it makes sense to me. It’s basically your book, as good as YOU can get it.

Now it’s time to:

1) Compile a list of early readers. This list can be as long or as short as you want. I will say that it’s always better to gather too many names than too few, because this means more potential endorsements and/or influencers. I approached those who had expressed interest in Viking history–specifically, fellow authors or experts in the Viking field, because I was hoping for endorsement quotes for my debut novel. For instance, if you amass thirty early reader names, you should understand that possibly only twenty will get back to you and have time to read it pre-publication.

2) Convert your book file into something readers can see on their e-readers. Before you do this, make sure your cover art is inserted onto the first page. It is helpful if your early readers have access to an e-reader, though it is possible to send your book as a .pdf attachment in your e-mail (.pdf is preferable to Word, for copyright protection purposes). You can upload files via the Kindle conversion process; a mobifile converter (which didn’t QUITE work right for me) or a .pdf file. I attached .pdf and an e-book ready file to my early readers, so they had options.

3) Plan to send your book to early readers at least 2-3 months before your release date. And give THEM a date to respond to you with endorsements. I didn’t do this the first time. I just sent out my mass e-mail with the book attached and sat by my computer, convinced I’d hear back from everyone that week…nope, didn’t work that way (although some readers were really fast!). Turns out, people are pretty busy, and authors really have to carve time into their schedules to read for you (which makes them doubly blessed!). I actually had authors ask ME for a respond-by date. So be sure to include a respond-by date in that initial e-mail.

I also tried to make it really clear that if early readers didn’t like the book, not to worry about it. I’m not going to pressure people to read/review something that’s not up their alley. Early readers actually helped me narrow down my demographic by their responses to the novel.

You can word your mass e-mail however you want, but I think friendliness and appreciation shines through, instead of a brusque business letter approach. Some authors actually create a Facebook group for early readers, where they can discuss the book. Some call early readers a “Street Team.” Doesn’t matter how you phrase it, but they’re crucial for a debut author. I’ll explain why in the next point…

4) Those early reader reviews will be the first ones to go up on Goodreads and Amazon…and the first reviews don’t budge. They show up on the screen every time someone pulls up your book. So you want to showcase the reviews of readers you trust. You can be sure your early reader’s reviews will be thoughtful, if not all five-stars. Forget five-stars. It just matters that they read your book all the way through and cared enough to write something that will help steer curious new readers. Getting a few Goodreads reviews up pre-release increases your visibility and makes it easier for authors to transfer reviews to Amazon when you launch.

5) As the endorsements and reviews trickle in, collect your author endorsements in a file. Be sure to copy/paste them to the “Editorial Reviews” section on Amazon WHEN you hit PUBLISH. You can’t do it before then. I tried. You can also copy/paste them right into those first pages of your book (“Praise for ______________”), or revise the back cover art on a softcover book to include author quotes you want to highlight.

***WHEW! I feel like we covered a lot, and I’m probably leaving out some details. Do you have any questions or ideas as related to “Early Readers,” “Street Teams,” “Viking hordes,” or whatever term you want to use to designate those helpful early readers?***

So You’ve Decided to Self-Publish…The First Steps (Editing, Cover Art, and Blurb)

I *might* be a tad crazy for starting up this series when I’m pretty busy (possibly procrastinating), but I get a lot of questions from authors pondering self-publishing. Hybrid authors, debut authors, you name it. 

So I’m going to keep it simple and each week, just throw out some steps in my process. Your process will NOT look exactly like mine, but if you can get some great ideas from it, I’m happy to share. You know me–I like mentoring any which way I can, so people can learn from my experiences, good and bad.

For example’s sake, I’ll just give steps for launching a debut novel. If you’ve already self-pubbed or been traditionally pubbed, your steps aren’t going to be exactly like this. Modify as necessary! As the pirates say on Pirates of the Caribbean: “Take what you can, give nothing back!” *just kidding, of course we’re giving back as authors. I just happen to find that quote hilarious*

THE FIRST STEPS

You start with a novel that’s made its rounds with crit groups, crit partners, and/or beta readers. You’ve gotten content edits from someone who’s in your reading demographic–someone who will say “Don’t you see that glaring hole in your timeline?” or “You said he left the knife in the cupboard but now it’s on top of the refrigerator?” or “Something about this character feels all wrong.” You get the gist.


You have said novel edited. This can vary based on cost. This can vary based on experience, which is something no one wants to say, but it’s true. If you’ve been professionally edited before with your books, you probably have a much better idea of how to self-edit. No one will say this out loud, but it is possible for authors to self-edit and have only crit partner/beta input, without hiring out edits, and still produce an excellent product. However, if you’re unsure, hire it out . If you haven’t been edited before, it’s definitely best to save up and spring for it, at least with the first novel. Many editors are happy to work on pricing with you.


You have a kickin’ title. Series title isn’t as important at this point. But you want a book title that will knock your readers’ socks off, make them think, but mostly, stick with them. Dinner with Mr. Farfetzle in the Black Forest at Midnight is an example of a title that’s so wordy, no one can remember it.


You have cover art ready to roll, as well as an Amazon blurb for your book. I am now going to say something that will tick people off, so brace up and feel free to shout at me from your chair. If you want to sell more books,  you need to have a cover that looks professionally done.  I recommend making a cover (or paying to have one made) that would make you stop in your tracks at a bookstore and be drawn to your book. Be honest with yourself on this. If it looks half-cooked, it probably is. This is something else that you probably want to outsource if you have the resources and know someone artistically and technologically inclined. It will be worth every penny, because it’s better to be noticed than to fall by the wayside and not be taken seriously.

And as far as Amazon blurb, I highly recommend looking up books in your genre and structuring yours around bestsellers. Each genre is different, from YA to sci-fi to historical fiction. I modeled mine somewhat on Phillippa Gregory’s books. My Facebook author page readers chimed in on elements they really wanted to see in the blurb, and which sample blurbs gave away too much of the book (my tendency!). Get as much honest  input as you can on this.

For example, I thought I needed to compare my book to other popular books so readers would know what to expect from me as a debut author. However, My Facebook readers emphatically said that was unnecessary and steered me back toward my book and plotline. It was the right move to make, as the comparisons just seemed confusing.

Okay, not so bad, was it? I totally understand there are differing approaches to self-publishing, and if you’ve done something different that needs to be here, please chime in. Next week we’ll talk about the benefits of getting an “advanced reader copy” out to early readers. And again, this is my approach, but I’ve had so many people asking me about it, I really want to share it with you!

So You’ve Decided to Self-Publish…The First Steps

I *might* be a tad crazy for starting up this series when I’m pretty busy (possibly procrastinating), but I get a lot of questions from authors pondering self-publishing. Hybrid authors, debut authors, you name it. 

So I’m going to keep it simple and each week, just throw out some steps in my process. Your process will NOT look exactly like mine, but if you can get some great ideas from it, I’m happy to share. You know me–I like mentoring any which way I can, so people can learn from my experiences, good and bad.

For example’s sake, I’ll just give steps for launching a debut novel. If you’ve already self-pubbed or been traditionally pubbed, your steps aren’t going to be exactly like this. Modify as necessary! As the pirates say on Pirates of the Caribbean: “Take what you can, give nothing back!” *just kidding, of course we’re giving back as authors. I just happen to find that quote hilarious*

THE FIRST STEPS

You start with a novel that’s made its rounds with crit groups, crit partners, and/or beta readers. You’ve gotten content edits from someone who’s in your reading demographic–someone who will say “Don’t you see that glaring hole in your timeline?” or “You said he left the knife in the cupboard but now it’s on top of the refrigerator?” or “Something about this character feels all wrong.” You get the gist.


You have said novel edited. This can vary based on cost. This can vary based on experience, which is something no one wants to say, but it’s true. If you’ve been professionally edited before with your books, you probably have a much better idea of how to self-edit. No one will say this out loud, but it is possible for authors to self-edit and have only crit partner/beta input, without hiring out edits, and still produce an excellent product. However, if you’re unsure, hire it out . If you haven’t been edited before, it’s definitely best to save up and spring for it, at least with the first novel. Many editors are happy to work on pricing with you.


You have a kickin’ title. Series title isn’t as important at this point. But you want a book title that will knock your readers’ socks off, make them think, but mostly, stick with them. Dinner with Mr. Farfetzle in the Black Forest at Midnight is an example of a title that’s so wordy, no one can remember it.


You have cover art ready to roll, as well as an Amazon blurb for your book. I am now going to say something that will tick people off, so brace up and feel free to shout at me from your chair. If you want to sell more books,  you need to have a cover that looks professionally done.  I recommend making a cover (or paying to have one made) that would make you stop in your tracks at a bookstore and be drawn to your book. Be honest with yourself on this. If it looks half-cooked, it probably is. This is something else that you probably want to outsource if you have the resources and know someone artistically and technologically inclined. It will be worth every penny, because it’s better to be noticed than to fall by the wayside and not be taken seriously.

And as far as Amazon blurb, I highly recommend looking up books in your genre and structuring yours around bestsellers. Each genre is different, from YA to sci-fi to historical fiction. I modeled mine somewhat on Phillippa Gregory’s books. My Facebook author page readers chimed in on elements they really wanted to see in the blurb, and which sample blurbs gave away too much of the book (my tendency!). Get as much honest  input as you can on this.

For example, I thought I needed to compare my book to other popular books so readers would know what to expect from me as a debut author. However, My Facebook readers emphatically said that was unnecessary and steered me back toward my book and plotline. It was the right move to make, as the comparisons just seemed confusing.

Okay, not so bad, was it? I totally understand there are differing approaches to self-publishing, and if you’ve done something different that needs to be here, please chime in. Next week we’ll talk about the benefits of getting an “advanced reader copy” out to early readers. And again, this is my approach, but I’ve had so many people asking me about it, I really want to share it with you!

This is What Married Romance Looks Like (Reblog)

I’m participating in Fawn Weaver’s Happy Wives’ Club blog tour, and I thought I’d reblog a post I wrote for our group site, Married…with Fiction. As you know, sadly we are ending blogging at that site, but the vision for strengthening marriages through writing is deep-seated with Becky Doughty, Jennifer Major, and me.

I always enjoy Fawn’s pins and posts, so I knew I wanted to support this book! To learn more about the Happy Wives’ Club tour, CLICK HERE!  And you can find your copy of Fawn’s book, Happy Wives Club, HERE.

And now, on to the post. Hope you enjoy.

This is What Married Romance Looks Like

By: Heather Day Gilbert

There’s a big difference between dating/Lifetime channel romance and married romance. I was pondering the romantic things my hubby did before we married, and they included:

Writing me notes when I was sick in college
Writing me poems
Singing to me when we became girlfriend/boyfriend and when we got engaged
Hardly taking his eyes off me
Buying me heather flowers for an event, since my name is “Heather.”
Holding hands in church
Laughing with me

Those were lovely, heart-fluttering times. Recently, I was listening to Sinatra singing “Just the Way You Look Tonight,” one of the songs David sang to me, and I just sort of smiled. Yes, it was romantic then, but I feel like we’ve gotten to a deeper level of romance now. More like the “Always a Woman to Me” level…”She’ll bring out the best and the worst you can be.” So…now the blinders are off, but he still loves me. And this makes our love so much deeper.

Married romance with my hubby looks more like this:

Stopping for my numerous Starbucks-induced bathroom breaks on trips
Texting me throughout the day
Fixing yet another burned-out element on the stove for me
Digging a fire pit outside for my family during our 10-day power outage
Supporting our homeschooling choice (and me as a homeschool teacher!) to co-workers
Listening to me rant and groan and shout for five years while trying to get published…there are a few moments of elation, but few and far between…
Holding hands in church
Laughing with me

The Lifetime channel rarely shows the “ever after” part of marriage. But honestly, I believe it’s the best part. The part where his family becomes mine and mine his. The part where we nurture our kids and watch them grow up before our eyes. The part where he knows me better than anyone else on earth and knows when I’m just pretending to be brave or happy.

Married romance is real…and deep. It doesn’t look like the stuff in many romance novels or on TV. It’s those things our spouses do that touch us on the very deepest levels.

I’d rather have a Saturday planting the garden with my husband than a poem. A working stove trumps a new diamond ring, I’d say. And one meaningful compliment, about something he has seen in me, goes so much farther than a hundred compliments on looks.

Once you get married, romance isn’t dead. Just different! And, I have to say, better.

A Couple E-book Giveaways of God’s Daughter!

Just a quick check-in post to share two e-book giveaways of God’s Daughter, in case you’ve been waiting for a chance at it! Here they are:

Infinite Characters: (Ending at midnight Jan 9)

Lisa Godfrees: (Just went up–not sure how long it’s running!)

Also, wanted to share a couple new review posts, in case you wanted a few more thoughts on the book before buying:

A Booklover’s Heart

Janet Sketchley  (honored as Janet said this was her fave histfic novel of 2013!)

As far as what’s up this month, I’m doing a radio interview with Giovanni Gelati, and I’ll link up to that when it goes live. I also have another Novel Rocket post going live on Thurs, Jan 16th, on “Getting the Good out of your Goodreads Account.” I’m also getting excited about my first live author signing on Jan 25th!

****What about you? What’s up in your January? If you’re an author and have done signings, please share any tips!****

 

End of the Year Recap and Future Writing Plans

Hi everyone! Just did a little vlog to catch up a bit! A shout-out from me to you!

Price Reduction on E-book and 2-day Softcover Giveaway!

Hi all, just wanted to give a little post-Christmas offer…wasn’t able to make my ebook free/.99 on Kindle easily since I’m not in Kindle Select, but instead, I’m offering it for $2.99 from now till January third. Please let your friends know if it’s something you think they’d enjoy! Here’s the link.

Also, I want to offer a FB Author Page follower a signed softcover of my novel. You can just go to my FB wall here and comment for a chance to win. Oh, and please follow there if you haven’t, as it’s where I do most of my post updates. Will draw that name in two days!

Good tidings to you all!

 

–Heather

 

When your Word of the Year Gets Real

As we hurtle toward the end of 2013, I have been spending more and more time reflecting how my word of 2013 showed up in my life.

BLESSING. My word was BLESSING. Now, to be utterly honest, I thought for sure I knew exactly what the blessings would look like:

1) Our old house, on the market since last September, would sell early in the year.

2) My mystery, edited and ready to go by March, would be contracted by the middle of the year, TOPS.

3) God’s Daughter would be picked up by a CBA publisher at some point in the year.

4) My husband would be settled in his job.

Well, God had other plans! And the blessings were there, only I had to rearrange MY perceptions of what blessing looked like in my life. For instance:

1) Our old house will hopefully be sold in January, 2014. So it sold, but not on a timetable that made paying the bills easy, to say the least.

2) My mystery…well, I’ll let that remain a mystery. Still out with three publishers, but it could be coming out as soon as next year. Will keep you updated for sure.

3) God’s Daughter was never picked up by a publisher. But it’s out in the world, exactly how I wanted it to be. When I think of the possibility I could STILL be sitting on it, waiting for something to happen with it, three years after I finished it, I get sick to my stomach. God knew my wait was finally over to get that novel out.

4) My husband actually changed jobs, and now we’re in that transition period. BUT we know this is right where God wants him.

So I guess I learned my lesson. Never think you know HOW God is going to bless you. I can think of the things that would mean the most to me–those blessings I waited and prayed and begged God for–but in the end, He takes me through the valleys He knows I have to walk to be stronger.

I think of how I dealt with criticism, even when I got married…I loathed it and immediately reacted to it. ESPECIALLY when it came to my writing.

But God has taken me on this circuitous route that has forced me to endure criticism and endless rejection, only to put me in a place where people are reading my book and giving me such heartfelt praise, I feel like my heart is five sizes too BIG! After all the rejection (which was admittedly sprinkled with praise, via agents/editors/early readers), now I am in a place where I’m READY for the one-stars, and yet God has smiled and given me readers who truly love my book.

So honestly, as I reflect on 2013, I see so many dark, hard times. And yet, here at the end of the year, I can sit and look at my Christmas tree lights (there’s something magical about sitting in the dark with your lit Christmas tree, isn’t there!?), and ponder all the ways God has blessed me. Certainly more than I had hoped or dreamed. He has lifted my burden of being unpublished and given me the courage to publish (thanks SO MUCH to others who have encouraged me in this route! You know who you are!).

I think my word for 2014 is TRUST. Because even though I know God is good, I sometimes feel like WHY CAN’T IT JUST BE EASY? Why can’t we have those blessings poured out and answers to prayers just like we WANT them? But every time I think that, I realize I have to TRUST that God knows best and He sees the big picture. As Chip Ingram once said, since He is a good God, He is working out the greatest good for the greatest number of people.

 

****How about you? Did you have a word of the year for 2013? How have you seen that come to pass? And do you want to share your word for 2014?****

 

 

 

Novel Rocket!

I’ve shared on my FB author page, but just wanted to share something here today. I’m now a contributor to the wealth of online author/industry information, Novel Rocket! I’d love for you to check out my first post today.

I’m often asked what authors need to do before self-publishing. There are three key elements to get into place. I feel like if you leave out any one, you’ll reduce the possible impact your self-published product (and even self-publishing career) can have.

Hope you can check it out! Here’s the link: Lay the Foundation: Three Crucial Steps before Self-Publishing.

Softcover Winner and Another Chance to Win!

Thank you all so much for entering the Rafflecopter giveaway for the signed softcover of God’s Daughter and your choice of coffee or tea from my nearby coffee shop. I appreciate your interest in the book and your answers about why you enjoy hard copies of books!

AND THE WINNER IS…

Amanda Holland!

I’ll be contacting you about that, Amanda!

But don’t fall into a pit of despondence if you didn’t win! I have another chance for you to get your hands on a signed softcover (only no coffee/tea with this one). It’s a Goodreads giveaway–going on till December 20th! And I would love it if you’d tweet/share this so lots of other Goodreaders would hear about it, too. Thanks so much!

Here’s the link for that:

Goodreads Book Giveaway


God’s Daughter
by Heather Day Gilbert

Giveaway ends December 20, 2013.

See the giveaway details

at Goodreads.

Enter to win