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| IWSG Blog Hop---the first Wednesday of every Month. |
Hello and welcome to the Insecure Writer's Support Group Blog Hop!
What is the Insecure Writer's Support Group?
Founded by author Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Insecure Writer’s Support Group offers support for writers and authors alike. It provides an online database, articles and tips, a monthly blog posting, a Facebook and Instagram group, Twitter, and a monthly newsletter.
Alex explains the group's purpose is "to share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!" You're invited to become a member of this supportive group.
The group blogs the first Wednesday of every month. The list of bloggers is always available so you can hop around to the author blogs filled with humor, advice, and thought-provoking topics on writing and publishing. You can find the list of participants at Alex's IWSG page.
Aug. 1 question
What pitfalls would you warn other writers to avoid
on their publication journey?
When your manuscript (ms) is ready to publish, be realistic about how much you can spend to get your book in the hands of a reader. Authors have to be practical. You will take longer to pay for expenses when selling a 99 cent eBook versus selling one for $4.99 because you have to sell a LOT of 99 cent books to earn the cash. The folks at CreateSpace, a POD company, told me to expect to pay at least $400 to get a print book ready. You may have to hire a content editor, a proofreader, a formatter, and/or a book cover designer. Depending on your own skills (or your talented friends), you may get by cheaper.
I've heard writers say they spent $3000. to get their book published. That may be okay if the expense results in a best-selling book and you have an extra $3000 in your pocket, but foolish if you don't.
A traditional publisher will never ask you for money to publish your work. They make money by selling books. A vanity publisher is in the business to make money by signing you up to sell you services. Be aware of the difference and don't get caught up in their promises. Be practical!!
A traditional publisher will never ask you for money to publish your work. They make money by selling books. A vanity publisher is in the business to make money by signing you up to sell you services. Be aware of the difference and don't get caught up in their promises. Be practical!!
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The 5 W's of Story Guest Authors Event
Thrilled to have more guest authors this month and beyond sharing the Five W's of their stories! Come back and discover authors and great reads to wind up the summer. And You may win a book too!!
AUGUST
| 15 | Dr. Bob Rich | |
| 22 | Diane Burton | |
SEPTEMBER
12 C. Lee Mackenzie
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13 comments:
It is a challenge to get a book from finished to published. I have many published as print versions that cost quite a bit more than their digital counterparts. Those, thanks to Kindle, are almost free to publish.
Marketing--that's a whole 'nuther animal.
Setting up a budget and being realistic about it is so important. Even traditionally published authors have expenses that can run darned high.
Hi Jacqui-thanks for stopping in. Watching your budget when publishing either print of ebooks is for sure a necessity.
Hi Lee--Yes, I hate being realistic. When we were in the floral business, so many brides came in with their moms. Of course, mom had to be the realistic one when sticking to the wedding budget. Often times I think the writer would have the mindset of the bride!!
For me, the biggest cost is editing because I write looooooong books. :)
Excellent advice. There are really no shortcuts to publication regardless of whether the publisher is paying or the writer decides to publish.
Shalom aleichem,
Pat G @ EverythingMustChange
I've gone traditional but with indie publishers. Didn't cost me a thing. Didn't sell much either and one of them went out of business. So no matter what path a person takes, very likely it will be a bumpy one. :-)
I did learn a lot about cover art, the editing process and marketing. So there that.
Anna from elements of emaginette
I have heard of authors spending outrageous amounts to get their books published. I also know some writers who do all the work themselves.
Hi JQ, it's great advice to authors self-publishing for the first time to be aware they will need to pay in order to make their book a great product. Nothing says "self-published" more than a tacky cover and a book full of typos and grammar mistakes. I've just started editing a book for a woman who is self-publishing for the first time. After reading my comments and suggested amendments, she said she realised why it was well worth the money to pay for a full edit.
Editing will be the biggest chunk of change. If you can format yourself, that just leaves cover artist, ISBN, CIP block if you get one, printer costs, and of course marketing. It does add up!
Excellent advice! And so important not to fall prey to the scammers in the industry. I'm not sure a lot of self/indie-published authors have any sense for how much time, money, and effort is needed for marketing. Great post topic.
Great advice and good points. Practical is the best path. Happy belated IWSG.
Hey, JQ. I don't think first time authors who decide to publish their book have a clue about the expense. I'm still learning how to cut the expense without loosing the quality. And that's just tough. I've done Draft 2 Digital on my last book and my first book to get them up on Apple. I apparently have left extra spaces at the ends of sentences which causes and extra line or two to appear. It's laborious to remove them. But I'm not paying someone with a Mac to format and upload to Apple. I did that on earlier books and it was just a lot of money. Mostly, I pay a formatter and then upload to KDP, Nook Press, and KOBO on my own. I get more money back, but then it costs more to do, so maybe I should just do all of them through D2D. ???? Lots of questions in this book business. Thakns for your post. I'll share. :)
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