Do you have any advice for a new/never been published author? I have a manuscript but I'm not sure what to do next. I know I need an editor though. Is self publishing a good thing? How did you get published? (I bought your books and I loved them by the way
Definitely get an editor.
I’d work first with someone who has a good grasp of novels and language, someone you trust, who isn’t afraid t o give you constructive criticism and liberally use a red pen (or red markups in a word processor, you know what I mean).
I decided to skip the big publishers and go straight to self publishing after I read a 2013 report on self-publishing stats. I have greater control over the look and feel of my books, the content, the distribution, and honestly, higher royalties. It is pretty funny watching where the book pops up, though. Like how I just found out that Kinokuniya in Malaysia carries Receiver of Many, like yesterday (Thank you expanded distribution!) The downside to self publishing is that I’m my own agent, my own PR and marketing, and my own legal team.
As for YOU getting published, there’s lot of options out there. I personally chose to use Createspace to publish and distribute the paperback, and KDP and Smashwords to publish the ebook. All of them are free to use, variably difficult to navigate (smashwords = easiest, KDP = nightmarish). I would also get your books their own ISBN through Bowker. You will need one for the paperback and one for the ebook (some also say you need one if it’s a Kindle vs. an Epub file, but I didn’t find that necessary). I was able (through all three sites) to get a preorder for each book, and I assure you that getting the paperback preorder set up is a TREMENDOUS pain in the ass.
But first things first, get a reliable editor, one who’s also going to give you solid content feedback as well as fixing grammatical errors. The rest will fall into place. After all, you already did the hard part, finishing the manuscript! Everything after the initial outpouring of blood sweat and tears is kinda cake.
