Rowena Wiseman's Blog, page 18
April 19, 2014
Umwelt House
Umwelt House publishes speculative fiction as beautifully designed print and digital novellas. They believe that novellas are perfect for busy lives, they have the complexity of a novel and the focus of a short story. Plus they can be read in a few hours.
They are currently seeking speculative fiction novella manuscripts that are 15,000-45,000 words. They are looking for well-written, concise and memorable speculative fiction with a strong narrative voice, some emotional moments and interesting, well-rounded characters. Ideas should be thought-provoking, original and relevant to today.
Visit: http://umwelthouse.com/submit/
They are currently seeking speculative fiction novella manuscripts that are 15,000-45,000 words. They are looking for well-written, concise and memorable speculative fiction with a strong narrative voice, some emotional moments and interesting, well-rounded characters. Ideas should be thought-provoking, original and relevant to today.
Visit: http://umwelthouse.com/submit/
April 12, 2014
Self-publishing - Dan Garcia
Dan Garcia writes books featuring paranormal creatures with a heavy dose of humour. He's self-published three books and is a very popular Wattpad author. He's also been very generous to me with advice on interacting and responding to readers on Wattpad. Previously he was a copy-editor, a scriptreader and has had various jobs in the film industry. I wanted to ask him a little about his journey with self-publishing his books ...
You live in LA and previously wrote film scripts. Tell us a little about this and why you have now shifted in to writing ebooks?
I didn't really enjoy the process of trying to peddle my scripts, because it's difficult to get anyone to read them, even if you get a manager or agent. You're looking at 20 or 30 people at most reading it, if you're lucky. And then you find yourself in situations where it's 'writing by committee'. Your agent tells you to change this, the development executive tells you to alter that, and pretty soon, you find yourself struggling to hold onto some semblance of the story you once wanted to tell. And trust me, that's not an exaggeration, at least it wasn't for me.
With writing books, especially self-publishing, you're putting forth to the world exactly the story you intend it to be, for better or worse.
Of course, if I had made a million dollars, I might feel differently ...
What is your advice for other writers considering self-publishing their books?
I think Wattpad is a great starting point, because you can build an audience and get feedback. It's important to be really confident in the material you're publishing, because you will get reviews on websites like Amazon and Goodreads filled with brutal honesty.
People will notice any and every spelling error, so at least have someone you trust proofread your story. You do not want reviews pointing out bad grammar. But what's nice about self-publishing is that you can go back and edit.
Have a professional-looking cover, even if you have to pay someone to do it. There are plenty of websites for pre-designed covers, like goonwrite.com, where you can get something for a relatively cheap price. You might even find someone on Wattpad who can create something for you, though make sure it's a picture for which you own the rights. Your book will be judged by its cover, unfortunately, and you don't want to give someone a reason not to buy, like those reviews saying your book had poor punctuation.
There are great websites like kindleboards.com that have self-published authors who are willing to give you a wealth of information, I would say check them out.
You have your ebooks listed on Amazon, Kobo and Barnes and Noble. What are your thoughts on the various platforms? Do you prefer one over the others? Why?
Amazon is the biggie, so the real questions is, do you want to maintain exclusivity on there or not. They have a program called Select which can be very effective, because it allows you to have five free giveaway days every three months. However, it works best if you have more than one book out, or a series, where you can give your book away free. You also get paid when people lend your book, an amount that varies every month. I've considered going back to Select now that I have more books out, but I feel that it's better to have more exposure through various sites. I would also have to pull Succubus from Wattpad, because you are not allowed to be on any other sites.
In certain places around the world, Kobo and Nook are more prominent, so that is important. It's just basically a situation where you should do whatever you prefer.
Please tell us a little about how you have used Wattpad to build an audience for your ebooks?
I lucked out with Wattpad, because I was featured in the launch of their ChickLit category, so my journey here was not a typical one. I was able to build up an audience quickly. In terms of building an audience for my ebooks, I feel that it's helped, because readers here are very supportive. Many will go out and buy your books to, once again, support their favorite authors, and will go out and write reviews on Goodreads and Amazon, which are extremely important for marketing your books. But, really, I find that the interaction with the readers is what makes it fulfilling, because you really get to hear what they think, and respond to them. I haven't found that anywhere else.
Find on Wattpad: http://www.wattpad.com/user/ddgbooks
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Daniel-Garcia/e/B00ADCIJ5I/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ddgbooks
You live in LA and previously wrote film scripts. Tell us a little about this and why you have now shifted in to writing ebooks?
I didn't really enjoy the process of trying to peddle my scripts, because it's difficult to get anyone to read them, even if you get a manager or agent. You're looking at 20 or 30 people at most reading it, if you're lucky. And then you find yourself in situations where it's 'writing by committee'. Your agent tells you to change this, the development executive tells you to alter that, and pretty soon, you find yourself struggling to hold onto some semblance of the story you once wanted to tell. And trust me, that's not an exaggeration, at least it wasn't for me.
With writing books, especially self-publishing, you're putting forth to the world exactly the story you intend it to be, for better or worse.
Of course, if I had made a million dollars, I might feel differently ...
What is your advice for other writers considering self-publishing their books?
I think Wattpad is a great starting point, because you can build an audience and get feedback. It's important to be really confident in the material you're publishing, because you will get reviews on websites like Amazon and Goodreads filled with brutal honesty.
People will notice any and every spelling error, so at least have someone you trust proofread your story. You do not want reviews pointing out bad grammar. But what's nice about self-publishing is that you can go back and edit.
Have a professional-looking cover, even if you have to pay someone to do it. There are plenty of websites for pre-designed covers, like goonwrite.com, where you can get something for a relatively cheap price. You might even find someone on Wattpad who can create something for you, though make sure it's a picture for which you own the rights. Your book will be judged by its cover, unfortunately, and you don't want to give someone a reason not to buy, like those reviews saying your book had poor punctuation.
There are great websites like kindleboards.com that have self-published authors who are willing to give you a wealth of information, I would say check them out.
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You have your ebooks listed on Amazon, Kobo and Barnes and Noble. What are your thoughts on the various platforms? Do you prefer one over the others? Why?
Amazon is the biggie, so the real questions is, do you want to maintain exclusivity on there or not. They have a program called Select which can be very effective, because it allows you to have five free giveaway days every three months. However, it works best if you have more than one book out, or a series, where you can give your book away free. You also get paid when people lend your book, an amount that varies every month. I've considered going back to Select now that I have more books out, but I feel that it's better to have more exposure through various sites. I would also have to pull Succubus from Wattpad, because you are not allowed to be on any other sites.
In certain places around the world, Kobo and Nook are more prominent, so that is important. It's just basically a situation where you should do whatever you prefer.
Please tell us a little about how you have used Wattpad to build an audience for your ebooks?
I lucked out with Wattpad, because I was featured in the launch of their ChickLit category, so my journey here was not a typical one. I was able to build up an audience quickly. In terms of building an audience for my ebooks, I feel that it's helped, because readers here are very supportive. Many will go out and buy your books to, once again, support their favorite authors, and will go out and write reviews on Goodreads and Amazon, which are extremely important for marketing your books. But, really, I find that the interaction with the readers is what makes it fulfilling, because you really get to hear what they think, and respond to them. I haven't found that anywhere else.
Find on Wattpad: http://www.wattpad.com/user/ddgbooks
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Daniel-Garcia/e/B00ADCIJ5I/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ddgbooks
April 9, 2014
Women's fiction publishers
I’ve got a women’s fiction / quirky rom-com novel doing the rounds at the moment. Here are some of the publishers I’ve got on my list …
Quirk Books http://www.quirkbooks.com/Carina UK http://www.carinauk.com/Pantera Press http://www.panterapress.com.au/Fledgling Press http://www.fledglingpress.co.uk/Avon Romance http://www.avonromance.com/impulseNovelicious http://www.noveliciousbooks.com/Sourcebooks http://www.sourcebooks.com/Boroughs Publishing http://boroughspublishinggroup.com/Destiny Romance http://www.destinyromance.com/Turner Publishing http://www.turnerpublishing.com/Three Hares Press http://threeharespublishing.com/
Merge Publishing http://mergepublishing.com/
Quirk Books http://www.quirkbooks.com/Carina UK http://www.carinauk.com/Pantera Press http://www.panterapress.com.au/Fledgling Press http://www.fledglingpress.co.uk/Avon Romance http://www.avonromance.com/impulseNovelicious http://www.noveliciousbooks.com/Sourcebooks http://www.sourcebooks.com/Boroughs Publishing http://boroughspublishinggroup.com/Destiny Romance http://www.destinyromance.com/Turner Publishing http://www.turnerpublishing.com/Three Hares Press http://threeharespublishing.com/
Merge Publishing http://mergepublishing.com/
Small press pop quiz - Merge Publishing
What makes Merge Publishing different to other publishers?
At Merge Publishing, we merge authors, editors, designers, and everyone in between to publish the best possible work. Editors, designers, and proofreaders receive royalties as the books sell. So it's not just the author and publisher. Everyone who helped on a project continuous gets compensated.
What kind of manuscripts are you looking for?
Fiction or unusual non-fiction. We are still discovering our niche, so we encourage good writing.
What are you excited about for the coming year?
We are excited to breakthrough and join the small press publishing movement. The emphasis is on the writer, and his or her work. We strive for fine storytelling, not just another book in a trendy series.
Visit: http://mergepublishing.com/
At Merge Publishing, we merge authors, editors, designers, and everyone in between to publish the best possible work. Editors, designers, and proofreaders receive royalties as the books sell. So it's not just the author and publisher. Everyone who helped on a project continuous gets compensated.
What kind of manuscripts are you looking for?
Fiction or unusual non-fiction. We are still discovering our niche, so we encourage good writing.
What are you excited about for the coming year?
We are excited to breakthrough and join the small press publishing movement. The emphasis is on the writer, and his or her work. We strive for fine storytelling, not just another book in a trendy series.
Visit: http://mergepublishing.com/
April 7, 2014
Author visibility
In this DIY author world, in the middle of the digital revolution, it’s all about visibility, platform building and growing an audience. But just how visible do we have to be? How much of ourselves do we have to put out there? And how much do we have to interact with other people?
This may sound anti-social, in such an online social era, but since putting out my novel Searching for Von Honningsbergs on Screwpulp in January this year, my real writing has been hijacked by time spent on Twitter, Instagram, Wattpad, Goodreads and Google+. By Friday, invariably, I have social media burnout, my head aches and when I lie down to sleep I can feel my eyes scrolling up and down as if I’m on my smartphone.
I’m experiencing what one of my friends described as ‘a constant state of agitation.’ There’s this constant fear of what has someone posted where, that I have to check and respond to. So I find myself flitting between the different apps, thanking people, acknowledging people, accepting friend requests, adding people to my circles, responding to comments … and when I tally the time I’ve spent on this in a day, I wonder what it all meant anyway?
With Wattpad I gain followers all the time, without having to do a thing; people from all over the world, from Turkey, India, Latvia, Mexico, France, loads from the Phillipines, as well as the usual suspects such as the US and UK. I try to send a short thank you message to all of them. Then there’s also people that vote and comment on my work from out of nowhere. At first, I was putting all this pressure on myself to respond to everyone with something witty and writerly, but with my story Bequest being featured at the end of this month, I’m realising it’s unsustainable to respond to everyone in a deeply meaningful way.
I’m posting a chapter a week of a futuristic YA novel named Silver on Wattpad. I’m starting to get readers who are particularly engaged with this book and are making comments like ‘I would like to hear more about this …’, ‘or you could develop this further …’ After working in solitary confinement as a writer for years and years, I appreciate each and every person who takes the time to think and comment about my work. It’s really interesting working on Silver with readers’ voices in my head, because in a way they are helping shape this book.
I’m learning lessons, as I go along. If a reader makes a storyline suggestion I can say, ‘great idea, thanks,’ but I can ignore it. It's still my work and I can't please everyone. And I’m being more careful with who I engage with online. I had a real creep scare the living daylights out of me a month or so back. He was off the planet weird, but it’s okay, because I’ve written him into Silver. Even creeps can be useful. But it taught me that just because I’m ‘audience building’ doesn’t mean I have to get into a conversation with every person that contacts me. I can be polite, but brief, I don’t have to give too much of myself unless that person warrants it.
The other day, Olga Grushin accepted my friend request on Goodreads. I couldn’t help but send her a gushing email, about how a good friend, with excellent taste in literature, had recommended The Dream Life of Sukhanov, and how I thought it was one of the best things I’d read. And I was happy when she didn’t respond, because she’s a serious writer, and she doesn’t need to.
And it made me reflect on what I’m trying to do. I want people to like my words, not my author profile picture, or some gimmicky youtube video of me standing on my head in a onesie before I write. I don’t think people need to know whether I wrote 1500k by 5.30am this morning or how many short blacks I drank to get me going. I do appreciate if anyone takes the time to comment on one of my stories or my posts and I will try to respond where I can. I can be visible, and discoverable, but people don’t have to know everything about me. And I still need to be producing my real work.
This may sound anti-social, in such an online social era, but since putting out my novel Searching for Von Honningsbergs on Screwpulp in January this year, my real writing has been hijacked by time spent on Twitter, Instagram, Wattpad, Goodreads and Google+. By Friday, invariably, I have social media burnout, my head aches and when I lie down to sleep I can feel my eyes scrolling up and down as if I’m on my smartphone.
I’m experiencing what one of my friends described as ‘a constant state of agitation.’ There’s this constant fear of what has someone posted where, that I have to check and respond to. So I find myself flitting between the different apps, thanking people, acknowledging people, accepting friend requests, adding people to my circles, responding to comments … and when I tally the time I’ve spent on this in a day, I wonder what it all meant anyway?
With Wattpad I gain followers all the time, without having to do a thing; people from all over the world, from Turkey, India, Latvia, Mexico, France, loads from the Phillipines, as well as the usual suspects such as the US and UK. I try to send a short thank you message to all of them. Then there’s also people that vote and comment on my work from out of nowhere. At first, I was putting all this pressure on myself to respond to everyone with something witty and writerly, but with my story Bequest being featured at the end of this month, I’m realising it’s unsustainable to respond to everyone in a deeply meaningful way.
I’m posting a chapter a week of a futuristic YA novel named Silver on Wattpad. I’m starting to get readers who are particularly engaged with this book and are making comments like ‘I would like to hear more about this …’, ‘or you could develop this further …’ After working in solitary confinement as a writer for years and years, I appreciate each and every person who takes the time to think and comment about my work. It’s really interesting working on Silver with readers’ voices in my head, because in a way they are helping shape this book.
I’m learning lessons, as I go along. If a reader makes a storyline suggestion I can say, ‘great idea, thanks,’ but I can ignore it. It's still my work and I can't please everyone. And I’m being more careful with who I engage with online. I had a real creep scare the living daylights out of me a month or so back. He was off the planet weird, but it’s okay, because I’ve written him into Silver. Even creeps can be useful. But it taught me that just because I’m ‘audience building’ doesn’t mean I have to get into a conversation with every person that contacts me. I can be polite, but brief, I don’t have to give too much of myself unless that person warrants it.
The other day, Olga Grushin accepted my friend request on Goodreads. I couldn’t help but send her a gushing email, about how a good friend, with excellent taste in literature, had recommended The Dream Life of Sukhanov, and how I thought it was one of the best things I’d read. And I was happy when she didn’t respond, because she’s a serious writer, and she doesn’t need to.
And it made me reflect on what I’m trying to do. I want people to like my words, not my author profile picture, or some gimmicky youtube video of me standing on my head in a onesie before I write. I don’t think people need to know whether I wrote 1500k by 5.30am this morning or how many short blacks I drank to get me going. I do appreciate if anyone takes the time to comment on one of my stories or my posts and I will try to respond where I can. I can be visible, and discoverable, but people don’t have to know everything about me. And I still need to be producing my real work.
April 6, 2014
Small press pop quiz - Regal House Publishing
What makes Regal House Publishing different to other publishers?
Regal House Publishing stands out from other publishing houses in the degree to which we support our authors. Not only do we assist in the establishment of a social media platform (if the author does not already possess an established presence online), but our web design team develops a sleek online site for each author (if it be so required) with links to all social media outlets, and storefront purchasing opportunities. We actively seek marketing opportunities in which to showcase our authors. We also accept submissions directly from authors without requiring a literary agent intermediary. We do this because we recognize the almost insurmountable odds that writers face in the route to publishing today, and seek to alleviate that process for those that submit their work to Regal House. We offer unprecedented royalty rates to our authors (higher than industry standard), and without the requisite agent cut, our authors receive a much higher return than others published elsewhere. Our imperative at Regal House is simply this: find talent, and then support it in every possible way that we can.
What kind of manuscripts are you looking for?
We are seeking manuscripts of literary fiction, with a particular interest in historical fiction. We are interested particularly in works of a distinctive and compelling narrative style.
If someone was to read two books on your list, what should they be?
We are tremendously excited about our upcoming release of PJ Royal's Killing the Bee King on May 15th. This novel is a marvellous combination of atmospheric detail and lush descriptive phrase, with the compelling forward momentum of a political thriller set in nineteenth century Paris and London. In a similar vein, we at Regal House greatly enjoyed Robert McCammon's historical fiction. While we enjoy works of this kind, we are seeking, above all else, an authentic literary voice.
What are you excited about for 2014?
For the upcoming publishing year we are most excited about discovering new writing talent and facilitating their entry into the global literary market. We, at Regal House, simply love what we do. And each submission is evaluated carefully, with a constant thought in mind for the writer who kindly sent it to our attention. We deplore the interminable waiting period for which writers are frequently subject to and endeavour to respond rapidly and politely to every query we receive. Every query is exciting, honestly, because with each we anticipate the voice of another talented writer to join the Regal House family.
Visit: http://www.regalhousepublishing.com/
Regal House Publishing stands out from other publishing houses in the degree to which we support our authors. Not only do we assist in the establishment of a social media platform (if the author does not already possess an established presence online), but our web design team develops a sleek online site for each author (if it be so required) with links to all social media outlets, and storefront purchasing opportunities. We actively seek marketing opportunities in which to showcase our authors. We also accept submissions directly from authors without requiring a literary agent intermediary. We do this because we recognize the almost insurmountable odds that writers face in the route to publishing today, and seek to alleviate that process for those that submit their work to Regal House. We offer unprecedented royalty rates to our authors (higher than industry standard), and without the requisite agent cut, our authors receive a much higher return than others published elsewhere. Our imperative at Regal House is simply this: find talent, and then support it in every possible way that we can.
What kind of manuscripts are you looking for?
We are seeking manuscripts of literary fiction, with a particular interest in historical fiction. We are interested particularly in works of a distinctive and compelling narrative style.
If someone was to read two books on your list, what should they be?
We are tremendously excited about our upcoming release of PJ Royal's Killing the Bee King on May 15th. This novel is a marvellous combination of atmospheric detail and lush descriptive phrase, with the compelling forward momentum of a political thriller set in nineteenth century Paris and London. In a similar vein, we at Regal House greatly enjoyed Robert McCammon's historical fiction. While we enjoy works of this kind, we are seeking, above all else, an authentic literary voice.
What are you excited about for 2014?
For the upcoming publishing year we are most excited about discovering new writing talent and facilitating their entry into the global literary market. We, at Regal House, simply love what we do. And each submission is evaluated carefully, with a constant thought in mind for the writer who kindly sent it to our attention. We deplore the interminable waiting period for which writers are frequently subject to and endeavour to respond rapidly and politely to every query we receive. Every query is exciting, honestly, because with each we anticipate the voice of another talented writer to join the Regal House family.
Visit: http://www.regalhousepublishing.com/
April 1, 2014
Small press pop quiz - Beau Coup Publishing
What makes Beau Coup Publishing different to other publishers?
Beau Coup Publishing was founded by a writer who is both traditionally and self-published. She had a desire to build a business which would offer writers a place where they could find a family atmosphere, be published but also be given guidance and help in the promotion of their books. Beau Coup seeks to help their authors find places to blog, be interviewed, be on the radio and their work be spotlighted in venues that cater to their specific genre. The owner desires to pay fair royalties, provide author support and to give the authors a place to learn and grow.
What kind of manuscripts are you looking for?
We publish romance, erotic romance, thriller, suspense, fantasy, women’s fiction, young adult, paranormal – even children’s books. I don’t publish short stories unless they are related and we can release them under one cover. I encourage series or trilogies and I require the first book in that series to have a minimum of 50,000 words. Our goal is to release ten to twelve titles a month.
If someone was to read two books on your list, what should they be?
Two titles I would recommend in the romance genre would be Consensual, by Katherine Rhodes and our newest Thunderbird by Sable Hunter and Ryan O’Leary. Two of other genres would be Protectors of the Vale, a fantasy by Major Curtiss Robinson and Lone Wolf Rising, a young adult paranormal fantasy by Jami Brumfield.
What are you excited about for 2014?
I have much to be excited about. We are receiving submissions daily and I have many new authors lined up as well as authors who have come to me from other houses. We are growing, expanding, even planning on publishing a magazine, so there are opportunities on every hand. We have The Last Drop by Andrea Perno, several paranormal reads from Alicia Sparks and Isobelle Cate. Frank Borne gives us a glimpse into life in a Mardi Gras krewe and Elliot Dorfman takes us back in time with a paranormal fantasy of a woman who has lived multiple lives. Aurora Zahni offers us offbeat young adult novels. His Terminal Romance is a study in time travel and hopeless love. We have a new cowboy romance series by Susan Davis and several children’s books by Tricia Anderson, April Manning, Rebecca Lyndsey and Marsha Casper Cook. And that’s just a fraction of what we have to look forward to.
Visit: http://beaucoupllc.com/
Beau Coup Publishing was founded by a writer who is both traditionally and self-published. She had a desire to build a business which would offer writers a place where they could find a family atmosphere, be published but also be given guidance and help in the promotion of their books. Beau Coup seeks to help their authors find places to blog, be interviewed, be on the radio and their work be spotlighted in venues that cater to their specific genre. The owner desires to pay fair royalties, provide author support and to give the authors a place to learn and grow.
What kind of manuscripts are you looking for?
We publish romance, erotic romance, thriller, suspense, fantasy, women’s fiction, young adult, paranormal – even children’s books. I don’t publish short stories unless they are related and we can release them under one cover. I encourage series or trilogies and I require the first book in that series to have a minimum of 50,000 words. Our goal is to release ten to twelve titles a month.
If someone was to read two books on your list, what should they be?
Two titles I would recommend in the romance genre would be Consensual, by Katherine Rhodes and our newest Thunderbird by Sable Hunter and Ryan O’Leary. Two of other genres would be Protectors of the Vale, a fantasy by Major Curtiss Robinson and Lone Wolf Rising, a young adult paranormal fantasy by Jami Brumfield.
What are you excited about for 2014?
I have much to be excited about. We are receiving submissions daily and I have many new authors lined up as well as authors who have come to me from other houses. We are growing, expanding, even planning on publishing a magazine, so there are opportunities on every hand. We have The Last Drop by Andrea Perno, several paranormal reads from Alicia Sparks and Isobelle Cate. Frank Borne gives us a glimpse into life in a Mardi Gras krewe and Elliot Dorfman takes us back in time with a paranormal fantasy of a woman who has lived multiple lives. Aurora Zahni offers us offbeat young adult novels. His Terminal Romance is a study in time travel and hopeless love. We have a new cowboy romance series by Susan Davis and several children’s books by Tricia Anderson, April Manning, Rebecca Lyndsey and Marsha Casper Cook. And that’s just a fraction of what we have to look forward to.
Visit: http://beaucoupllc.com/
March 31, 2014
Recently in print - Sonya Rhen
Sonya Rhen is a writer and poet. She has recently published a science fiction novel Space Tripping With the Shredded Orphans (Shredded Orphans, #1) and her book of poems Requite Me: Poems of Love, Jealousy and Angst? Here I ask her about self-publishing, her book of poems and National Poetry Month in the United States ...
Please tell us a little about your book of poems Requite Me: Poems of Love, Jealousy and Angst?
I like the phrase 'Unrequited Love' and I always wondered if there was a 'Requited Love'. Looking it up, I found that requite is like payback. While I never hear anyone using that word, I liked the idea of it and chose that for the title of my poetry book.
The book contains poems dating back from grade school with the last poem written about 2009. The idea of it formulated from a request by a friend for a poem I had written about her and dedicated to a boy that she liked. I wrote it in Jr. High and I think it was even published in the school 'newspaper', which was really more like a newsletter. When I looked for her poem, I came across many others that I had written. I thought I would like it if I had them all in one place instead of scattered in different notebooks and scraps of paper.
This book of poetry is for my friend and myself. If others find value and joy in reading it, then that’s a bonus! I’m no expert on poetry, but I enjoyed re-reading what I had written and my friend is thrilled to have the poem I wrote for her in book form.
How have you found the process of self-publishing? Is there anything that you would do differently next time?
I debated a long time about self-publishing the novel that I wrote. During that time I was also compiling all my poetry into one document. It seemed like it would be easier to self-publish the much shorter poetry book than the novel, so I thought I’d try it and see how it worked. I had heard of Create Space through the National Novel Writing Month program and checked it out.
It was really easy, but I did spend a long time reading about how to format my book and set everything up. I had to learn about Create Space’s submissions process, book formatting and uploading the right files. I had to learn how to use Open Office and create different 'Styles', 'Headings', a 'Table of Contents' (TOC) and figure out why sometimes what I was trying to do wasn’t working. Formatting is not an easy thing and I still haven’t mastered it.
For the eBook side, I went with KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing). I could have submitted the files straight from my print book formatted files, but I didn’t think they would look as nice, since they were formatted for print books with print book margins, no clickable TOC, etc. I edited my book using Scrivener for Windows and I was easily able to produce a Mobi file for upload. I lost some of the poetry formatting, but I think in the end I came up with a nicer product.
For the book cover, I had originally wanted to do a collage. I wanted it to look like something that a young girl might have doodled and pasted on the cover of her notebook or school book cover. I tried a bit of cutting and pasting letters, but in the end I thought it looked too busy. I knew a little Photoshop, so I sat down and decided to draw out the cover by hand on the computer. It was a simple design, but I liked the way it turned out.
I don’t think I would ever have tried to get a traditional publisher to publish my poems. I am thrilled that there is a self-publishing option to be able to do this. In fact there are many options available to writers now. I actually love being in control of what my cover looks like, where to put my poems, how they flow on the page, and how soon the book comes out. I do feel like I am still not done with 'this time' for publishing as there are still so many more options of where I can upload my book to. I’m working on getting the formatting ready for Smashwords, so I can have eBooks in Barnes and Noble as well as the print book. I would say for next time, that I might try and get the Smashwords format ready a lot closer to the Create Space and KDP release dates.
Tell us about poetry month and what you will be doing on your blog in April?
April is National Poetry Month in the United States. It was started by the Academy of American Poets in 1996. You can find out more about it here http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/41
I only stumbled across National Poetry Month last year when I found this image online somewhere. I thought it was a great idea and I posted one of my poems from the novel that I was working on at the time. I thought about doing the same thing this year. Then I thought, since it is National Poetry Month and not 'Day', that I wanted to post more poems throughout the entire month. That thought grew into one poem every day and having guest bloggers post their poems. I’m very excited by the response and the contributions that I have been receiving. You can check my blog every day in April and find a different original poem by guest bloggers and myself.
Sonya Rhen
http://sonyarhen.wordpress.com/
https://twitter.com/SonyaRhen
or find her on Facebook, Goodreads or Google+
Please tell us a little about your book of poems Requite Me: Poems of Love, Jealousy and Angst?
I like the phrase 'Unrequited Love' and I always wondered if there was a 'Requited Love'. Looking it up, I found that requite is like payback. While I never hear anyone using that word, I liked the idea of it and chose that for the title of my poetry book.
The book contains poems dating back from grade school with the last poem written about 2009. The idea of it formulated from a request by a friend for a poem I had written about her and dedicated to a boy that she liked. I wrote it in Jr. High and I think it was even published in the school 'newspaper', which was really more like a newsletter. When I looked for her poem, I came across many others that I had written. I thought I would like it if I had them all in one place instead of scattered in different notebooks and scraps of paper.
This book of poetry is for my friend and myself. If others find value and joy in reading it, then that’s a bonus! I’m no expert on poetry, but I enjoyed re-reading what I had written and my friend is thrilled to have the poem I wrote for her in book form.
How have you found the process of self-publishing? Is there anything that you would do differently next time?
I debated a long time about self-publishing the novel that I wrote. During that time I was also compiling all my poetry into one document. It seemed like it would be easier to self-publish the much shorter poetry book than the novel, so I thought I’d try it and see how it worked. I had heard of Create Space through the National Novel Writing Month program and checked it out.
It was really easy, but I did spend a long time reading about how to format my book and set everything up. I had to learn about Create Space’s submissions process, book formatting and uploading the right files. I had to learn how to use Open Office and create different 'Styles', 'Headings', a 'Table of Contents' (TOC) and figure out why sometimes what I was trying to do wasn’t working. Formatting is not an easy thing and I still haven’t mastered it.
For the eBook side, I went with KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing). I could have submitted the files straight from my print book formatted files, but I didn’t think they would look as nice, since they were formatted for print books with print book margins, no clickable TOC, etc. I edited my book using Scrivener for Windows and I was easily able to produce a Mobi file for upload. I lost some of the poetry formatting, but I think in the end I came up with a nicer product.
For the book cover, I had originally wanted to do a collage. I wanted it to look like something that a young girl might have doodled and pasted on the cover of her notebook or school book cover. I tried a bit of cutting and pasting letters, but in the end I thought it looked too busy. I knew a little Photoshop, so I sat down and decided to draw out the cover by hand on the computer. It was a simple design, but I liked the way it turned out.
I don’t think I would ever have tried to get a traditional publisher to publish my poems. I am thrilled that there is a self-publishing option to be able to do this. In fact there are many options available to writers now. I actually love being in control of what my cover looks like, where to put my poems, how they flow on the page, and how soon the book comes out. I do feel like I am still not done with 'this time' for publishing as there are still so many more options of where I can upload my book to. I’m working on getting the formatting ready for Smashwords, so I can have eBooks in Barnes and Noble as well as the print book. I would say for next time, that I might try and get the Smashwords format ready a lot closer to the Create Space and KDP release dates.
Tell us about poetry month and what you will be doing on your blog in April?
April is National Poetry Month in the United States. It was started by the Academy of American Poets in 1996. You can find out more about it here http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/41
I only stumbled across National Poetry Month last year when I found this image online somewhere. I thought it was a great idea and I posted one of my poems from the novel that I was working on at the time. I thought about doing the same thing this year. Then I thought, since it is National Poetry Month and not 'Day', that I wanted to post more poems throughout the entire month. That thought grew into one poem every day and having guest bloggers post their poems. I’m very excited by the response and the contributions that I have been receiving. You can check my blog every day in April and find a different original poem by guest bloggers and myself.
Sonya Rhen
http://sonyarhen.wordpress.com/
https://twitter.com/SonyaRhen
or find her on Facebook, Goodreads or Google+
March 30, 2014
Small press pop quiz - Fledgling Press
What makes Fledgling Press different to other publishers?
We aim specifically to help debut authors and publish them (although unfortunately we cannot do that exclusively.)
What kind of manuscripts are you looking for?
Life stories, literary fiction, teen fiction.
If someone was to read two books on your list, what should they be?
Oooh, that's difficult - The Incomers by Moira McPartlin and Shop Front by Samuel Best - both debut authors.
What are you excited about for 2014?
Becoming Julie - the life story of a transgender woman living on the isle of Coll and From Deptford to Antarctica - the life story of Pete Wilkinson, one of the original founders of Greenpeace UK, complete with his diaries from his six Antarctic campaigns for Greenpeace.
Visit: http://www.fledglingpress.co.uk/
We aim specifically to help debut authors and publish them (although unfortunately we cannot do that exclusively.)
What kind of manuscripts are you looking for?
Life stories, literary fiction, teen fiction.
If someone was to read two books on your list, what should they be?
Oooh, that's difficult - The Incomers by Moira McPartlin and Shop Front by Samuel Best - both debut authors.
What are you excited about for 2014?
Becoming Julie - the life story of a transgender woman living on the isle of Coll and From Deptford to Antarctica - the life story of Pete Wilkinson, one of the original founders of Greenpeace UK, complete with his diaries from his six Antarctic campaigns for Greenpeace.
Visit: http://www.fledglingpress.co.uk/
March 27, 2014
How to write a press release for a self-published book - Tania Cheslaw
YOUR IMPRESSIVE PRESS RELEASE!
What you choose to say in your Press Release really matters, because you’ll have one page to say it in and at the top of your A4 sheet you will need to add a photo of your front cover – so try to encapsulate the ‘sizzle’ of your book in just a couple of paragraphs.
Start off with a winning tag-line – and, if you are sending to the local Press and Media, then you’ll need a heading such as:
LOCAL WRITER AIMS TO BE THE NEW J.K. ROWLING
Or
LOCAL AUTHOR’S DEBUT NOVEL IS SET TO TURN PAGES
I know it all sounds really corny, but remember that newspaper’s headlines are usually quite trite anyway – so don’t try and sound too erudite or your piece won’t be printed.
The main body of your Release should include a few quotes from readers who might have already sent you Five Star testimonials on Amazon etc. and also you’ll need to add the Release Date of your book and where people can buy it.
In addition – at the bottom – you’ll need to have your contact details, the book’s ISBN and a Recommended Retail Price (RRP) which is usually £7.99 for paperbacks in the UK.
With the industry predicting 70% of all books will be self-published within the next 20 years, literary and features editors of magazines and newspapers will be very used to receiving self-published books from authors and will be more welcoming than they were in the past.
Aim to send your finished Media/Press Release by email as well as through the mail and when targeting specific literary journalists, make sure you enclose a copy of your book and a nice cover letter that mentions them by name.
Don’t forget radio – send a copy of your book plus a Media Release to your local and regional radio stations – they are all bound to have an Arts correspondent.
In-Scribe Literary Services is proud to help authors with their Press and Media Releases – they know how important they are and they love to see their clients mentioned in the Press!
© Tania Cheslaw 2014 – Editor-In-Chief – www.in-scribe.co.uk
