Tools of the Trade
Hello everyone! K.R. here, and today we're going to talk about an author's tools. I know, the first answer everyone gives is: "It's just a pen and paper, or today a computer, right?"
Wrong. An author's tools include much more than just what he or she types or writes with. Tools of the trade begin with a wide variety of skills that develop as you learn to write, edit and write some more. They then further expand to include the side of the industry most new authors do not think about until they are already swimming in confusion at all the knowledge floating around.
On the writing end, the crucial skills and knowledge concerning the industry that you need include things like grammar, syntax, punctuation, vocabulary, interior formatting and layout, and editing.
But when you get to publishing, there is a whole new set of skills and knowledge you need to know - What are bleed lines, formats (both digital and print), cover design, styling and texts, fonts and color usage, genre identification, sub-genre identification, identifiers (ISBN's) and barcodes, copyrights, distribution, advertising and marketing, and finally reviews?
The skills are honed over time. But the knowledge? Where does it comes from? The answer is your peers, websites, classes and books that specialize in teaching how to do all that is listed above. Now, as recently as twenty years ago, that was not as easy a door to open, because the Internet did not possess as much free knowledge as it does today.
But the Internet is forever growing and changing, and knowledge in this and every other subject imaginable are at your fingertips with a click. Learning is not much harder than putting in the time to search and research a subject matter, then cross-reference it with other, similar subjects to see which works best for you.
Companies have sprouted all over the Internet that specialize in helping new authors to achieve their goals, and schools have created online classrooms devoted to entire educations through virtual teaching. How does this effect you?
It means your job as an author has gotten both easier and more difficult at the same time. It is easier because information flow is faster and more accurate than it's ever been. But at the same time, it has grown more difficult because fans and readers everywhere are also aware of this new access to that information, and they will hold you to higher standards than they did in the past.
Independent authors are growing in numbers. But to stand out in the crowd, you have to be that exception - the one who puts in the extra work to achieve that polished final creation that everyone loves: the book.
~ K.R. Fraser ~
Wrong. An author's tools include much more than just what he or she types or writes with. Tools of the trade begin with a wide variety of skills that develop as you learn to write, edit and write some more. They then further expand to include the side of the industry most new authors do not think about until they are already swimming in confusion at all the knowledge floating around.
On the writing end, the crucial skills and knowledge concerning the industry that you need include things like grammar, syntax, punctuation, vocabulary, interior formatting and layout, and editing.
But when you get to publishing, there is a whole new set of skills and knowledge you need to know - What are bleed lines, formats (both digital and print), cover design, styling and texts, fonts and color usage, genre identification, sub-genre identification, identifiers (ISBN's) and barcodes, copyrights, distribution, advertising and marketing, and finally reviews?
The skills are honed over time. But the knowledge? Where does it comes from? The answer is your peers, websites, classes and books that specialize in teaching how to do all that is listed above. Now, as recently as twenty years ago, that was not as easy a door to open, because the Internet did not possess as much free knowledge as it does today.
But the Internet is forever growing and changing, and knowledge in this and every other subject imaginable are at your fingertips with a click. Learning is not much harder than putting in the time to search and research a subject matter, then cross-reference it with other, similar subjects to see which works best for you.
Companies have sprouted all over the Internet that specialize in helping new authors to achieve their goals, and schools have created online classrooms devoted to entire educations through virtual teaching. How does this effect you?
It means your job as an author has gotten both easier and more difficult at the same time. It is easier because information flow is faster and more accurate than it's ever been. But at the same time, it has grown more difficult because fans and readers everywhere are also aware of this new access to that information, and they will hold you to higher standards than they did in the past.
Independent authors are growing in numbers. But to stand out in the crowd, you have to be that exception - the one who puts in the extra work to achieve that polished final creation that everyone loves: the book.
~ K.R. Fraser ~
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