Roadmaps Help You When You Think You Won't Need Them

When you want to be a published writer, many people still look to the exhaustive traditional publishing. Agents, query letters, rejections, and waiting. Sometimes you can wait months or even years. You will recieve fifty rejections before you get a deal.

I guess that’s why self-publishing is so appealing. You can publish when you want and screw the rejection. Plus, you get to keep more of the royalties. You are your own boss. Which means a whole lot more than you think.

To be your own boss and to self-publish, you have to treat your career like a business. You have to come up with a business plan, a marketing plan. There are legal things you have to do (such as IRS information). This all on top of writing, editing, and designing the cover.

If you have the budget, you can hire out editors and cover designers. Since the rise of self-publishing more and more people are branching out, becoming freelancers in their respective fields. A good editor can make a world of difference in your book and sales. Cover designers can give your book that leg up it needs to get people looking.

When you want to sell a book you have to think from the reader's perspective and how they choose a book. The cover is the first thing they see...so it has to fit the genre and be eye catching. Next is the description...get across just enough to pull the reader in but don’t give away the whole plot. The next thing is the inside. The reader will usually flip through a few pages to see how the inside looks. Grammar, alignment, font size...all that will make or break it for you as a writer.

All of these things can be hired out or done all by yourself. If you are like me, you can DIY all the way only because I cannot afford to hire out full time professionals.

To be able to do that I have to do a lot of research. The different types of editing, designing, and tips & tricks that can help me make the absolute best my book can be.

I’m going to leave these two things here.Both resources are chockfull of tips and things you need to know if you want to be a self-published writer. I cannot begin to tell you just how helpful these two books have been. And they’re free!

You can Google the authors and sign up for loads of free tips and tricks, and resources you will definitely need on your writing and publishing journey.

Successful Self-Publishing by Joanna Penn and Self-Publishing Boot Camp by Carla King

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Oh A Writing We Will Go...

As I stated Monday, this is a scheduled post. And boy do I have some news for you. I finished my Camp Nano project goal. !!!!!!!!!!!!!  Cue squealing. I finished writing Saturday but wanted to wait until the very end to let you guys know. I couldn't wait til Monday.

As always, seeing my family is good. Lil Miss seeing her Papa is wonderful. And hanging out with old friends is even better.

I am totally going to bombard you guys with this awesomeness. I didn't even get halfway for November's Nanowrimo last year, so this is quite an accomplishment for me. Especially with everything I have going on. 

Next Monday I'll share with you my experiences, my ups and downs, and the heart attacks all in detail. Be sure to check back. 

Did you participate in Camp Nanowrimo? Let me know how you did in the comments below. 

Missed this months Camp? Don't worry, there's another one in July and the official Nanowrimo is every November. It is never too late to start. 

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For The First Time Ever...I'm Doing A Thing

And that thing is....*drum roll, please*....plotting.

Yes, for 25 years I have been what writers refer to as a pantser, ie. a person who writes by the seat of their pants. I have never in my life plotted, made notes, researched, wrote out character notes. None of that. I would get a story in my head and write. Within a few weeks I'd have a book. And some of the characters would have 5 different names because I couldn't remember what name I gave them the first time, events would happen that I could never find again to edit. There was even one part where I changed the book completely halfway through and couldn't figure out what was supposed to change and what was supposed to go.

Well now, so I don't have to deal with that headache again, I'm plotting. I'm making notes. I'm researching. As of 5 minutes ago, I was writing out character profiles. I only have 6 actual characters in the whole book, and only 3 of them are main characters, but hey, I need all the help I can get.

You could scour the internet for worksheets, tips, and the like but here's one I used from over at Writer's Write.

There's always a bunch of good stuff at Writer's Write and I visit it regularly. This is the first time I've actually used some of their tips and tricks and so far it's going pretty good.

OH! And the site contains much more info than just about writing. There's stuff for readers, gamers, movies, really anything in the entertainment world can be found at Writer's Write.

Do you have any websites you use as a resource? Share them in the comments below.

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