Friday Focus
Today we thank Holly Dunn for this article. Holly is the author of Moth Picture Book
With these principles in mind, you’ll need to evaluate whether or not you’re ready to self-publish. First, you’ll need a great book. This is the hardest part, but fortunately it is the part you have the most control over. This book assumes you already have a manuscript. Your manuscript’s success is very much reliant upon its quality. Remember the first point: You can present the book in the best possible way, and tell the entire world about it, but if the book is poorly written or about a subject no one is interested in, then it simply won’t sell. So how do you determine if your book is any good? Well first of all, you read. You read other authors’ books. You read all sorts of different genres. You read great books and poorly written ones, and you analyse what the great ones have that the poor ones don’t. You get others to read your book and you listen to their feedback. Treat it as an ever-changing piece of work, and adapt where necessary. Hire a professional editor, listen to what they have to say, and take it on board. If your book needs improvement and you’re not quite ready to hire an editor, try joining a writing group. Being around other writers, especially those who are better than you, can help to improve your writing. Reading your work out loud to an audience allows you to identify which sections you’re happy with and which sound awkward. If you don’t have any local writing groups, try looking online. You might be able to find a group more specific to your genre. Another constructive step you could take to improve your writing is doing a course, either in your local area or online. Subscription sites like Skillshare have hundreds of classes on writing as well as other skills, such as social media marketing, that will be useful on your self-publishing journey. Bookshops and libraries are common places to find local writing workshops.
This is an extract from Independent Publishing in New Zealand (978-0-9951155-0-7) by HL Kennedy, scheduled for release early 2019.
With these principles in mind, you’ll need to evaluate whether or not you’re ready to self-publish. First, you’ll need a great book. This is the hardest part, but fortunately it is the part you have the most control over. This book assumes you already have a manuscript. Your manuscript’s success is very much reliant upon its quality. Remember the first point: You can present the book in the best possible way, and tell the entire world about it, but if the book is poorly written or about a subject no one is interested in, then it simply won’t sell. So how do you determine if your book is any good? Well first of all, you read. You read other authors’ books. You read all sorts of different genres. You read great books and poorly written ones, and you analyse what the great ones have that the poor ones don’t. You get others to read your book and you listen to their feedback. Treat it as an ever-changing piece of work, and adapt where necessary. Hire a professional editor, listen to what they have to say, and take it on board. If your book needs improvement and you’re not quite ready to hire an editor, try joining a writing group. Being around other writers, especially those who are better than you, can help to improve your writing. Reading your work out loud to an audience allows you to identify which sections you’re happy with and which sound awkward. If you don’t have any local writing groups, try looking online. You might be able to find a group more specific to your genre. Another constructive step you could take to improve your writing is doing a course, either in your local area or online. Subscription sites like Skillshare have hundreds of classes on writing as well as other skills, such as social media marketing, that will be useful on your self-publishing journey. Bookshops and libraries are common places to find local writing workshops.
This is an extract from Independent Publishing in New Zealand (978-0-9951155-0-7) by HL Kennedy, scheduled for release early 2019.
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