Considering Smashwords for next publication

On "Welcome to my annual publishing predictions" by Mark Coker.  The article is very informative and it "feels' sincere. Main points I liked: 

“The world is full of kings and queens who blind your eyes and steal your dreams.”
~ Black Sabbath

Coker goes on "The answer is complicated.  I think at the root of the challenge, as I’ve discussed here on the blog for several years now, is that the supply of ebooks is growing faster than the supply of readers." 

I recommend reading all of it. Here is the site and my comment to Smashwords on this "2019 Book Industry Predictions: The Butterflies Wi...": article

Thank you for a thorough and truthful article.

I am an emerging author. One of those who, after working at times two jobs to support my family, is now putting works on paper. In 2017 published the first book of my fantasy/ paranormal - based on mythology and history series - as a novella because I wanted to do a screenplay rendition and did; it won a third place award and from it, I got some good comments that I will implement.

The novella was published as an ebook on Amazon and D2D missing 4 chapters, yes, incomplete. I engaged the services of a publishing assistant that states it was submitted complete. No sense in blaming and arguing. The book got great reviews even though incomplete. 

Now, as I make lemonade out of lemons I am including three chapters from the beginning of the sequel and getting ready to republish. Your article is very appropriate for me and I will look into Smashwords.

Note: Wish you all a HAPPY 2019!!!

Know why to self-publish or find agent/publisher

@2011Marta

To self-publish or look for an agent is not a decision that only new authors pour over. Some think that authors published by a publisher have it made and no longer have to bother selling their book(s), but that is not the case. The authors I've talked with are constantly looking for publishing and marketing source. On the article by She Writes several agents discuss publishing choices: Articles by Agents on SheWrites.

InstaFreebie Case Study | Self-Publishing Advice Center

For authors, as is for all media, the world is our oyster, and there are various marketing methods. Here is a FREE article by ALLI that takes everything into account so you can even reach the remotest places.

InstaFreebie Case Study | Self-Publishing Advice Center

Slugging on blogging

It's not so much that I have a full plate, and not just with food. It's not that I am a social media (sm) glutton - Facebook, Twitter, Google, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Stumbleupon (forgot one or two?) I might engage in some more than others but gosh, golly, gee what the heck and whatnot. 

I am actually writing and submitting a lot!

But this whole media thing is like the biggest boomer, hippie, flower child, gossip circle, club, and what-have-you, and with millions online someone is always posting.

A woman said, not long ago, "social media is evil." "Well," I said, "you mean like when TV, phone, cars and airplanes first started?  Should we go back to smoke signals or?" I think her husband uses sm for porn; who knows.

The very next thing I will blog will be, I hope, is to announce the publishing of my book! Drum roll anyone???

I wish you all a happy 4th of July; stay safe and grateful to be safe.

Free info on effective publishing

I love to share freebies because as I prepare to publish my novel Virgins, the first of my Ayekah series, I find an abundance of sites that want $$$ to publish and or sell my work. So, I am learning how to be more effective and that is how I came upon The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi)

In the April 15, 2016 email are several free speaker sessions and today I watched the video: The Future of Publishing: 7 things an Author MUST Know. Jane Friedman explains: domain names; mobile friendly URLs; how to describe myself and key words in bio; what gets the most visits, and much more.

Yes, it can be mind-boggling not just the publishing aspect but also the marketing, because a published book can just gather dust on your publishing site's shelf. 

Jane Friedman's video is also on YouTube: The Future of Publishing: 7 Things an Author Must Do  

Want your musings published?

Was there a time when writers wrote, and voila were published? I don't think so. 

The struggle of writing is just as intense as the tangle to publish. Publishing one's work is a business that can take up all of a writer's time but oh hell; it is the difference between writing for oneself, family and friends or feeling that one has something to say about issues and life, and the pursuit to be read. 

So if you want to delve on costs and venues for publishing your poetry or other writing here is a good site to get you started. 

Don't get frustrated as I already am. Amen.

How to Find the Poetry Contest that is Best for You - Winning Writers

In the mountain is the molehill

I can get frozen or driven by a deadline. When writing for CBS Arts & Entertainment I would wait until the deadline was on me and then get crazy when the editor wanted changes until I embraced the learning process and opportunity. Same thing happened just two days ago when the time came to submit some poetry; I waited until six hours before the deadline. It felt like a mountain and I probably could have made better choices on the poems I selected to send. Authors build a business out of writing; that is prospective I lack. So, instead of scaling the mountain to look for the Muse or perfection, I need to do my very best and climb my molehill or lose the opportunity to publish my work. Not much more that I can say about this simple yet inspiring and to the point article on Helping Writers Become Authors, 5 Writing Lessons I Learned Ghostwriting for New York Times Bestsellers by Kevin Kaiser. Thanks Kevin!

Are you done yet?

Those who know me and let me say two words, and end up getting stories from my childhood to my life now, ask questions such as "Are you done yet?"  They are talking about my novels.

I never feel like my writing is good enough or ready, this why I am sharing this article Writing Life: Jilted – and Still Jazzed by Tina Lincer on Author; it hit a chord. I wrote every place and on everything I could find, from napkins to (unused) toilet seat paper. Finally, since I retired, and I can write most of the time in my office on my laptop or iPad, I am bogged by never feeling that my books are ready!  So, this article I'm Out of My Comfort Zone by Jill Jepson on She Writes set me straight. I am willing to post my synopsis and start sharing my books.  Hope you like the articles.

To be successful send a thank you note when rejected.

This caught my attention, "Thank you Papa Hemingway. By the way, Ernest Hemingway self-published his first book, Three Stories and Ten Poems, after a rejection letter and look at his success! What the author whose work was rejected, (there's that unpleasant word again), should have done is bitch and moan in private and then send a polite letter or email to the agent thanking her for taking time to read his manuscript."

The quote is taken from an article on Huff Post by Kristen Houghton: The Savvy Author: What You Really Need to Know to BeSuccessful

I just got a poetry rejection, after waiting three months, from a fabulous magazine, so I goggled "sample of thank you letter for rejection by publisher" and got the following: On Writer's Relief, Famous Author Rejection Letters: True Stories Of Unbelievable Rejections. An excellent article with lots of worthwhile comments but does not have a letter to a rejection. But in other sites, according to what I read, my rejection invites me to continue submitting work: "We do, however, look forward to reading more” that put a smile on my face. I will reply by sending a couple of more poems.

How to advertise using Facebook: AnyAudience for Facebook

To writers

Most writers, in my opinion, write because we have no choice. Something always makes our hands go to paper or keyboard, put words together and strive to create well-written sentences and grammatically correct paragraphs. Sometimes we don't even care about the esthetics, we just need to get it out, impassioned by an event, dream, feeling, hope or another author. Anything can spark the start of a poem, novel, or screenplay.

 

That most will never be signing a best seller at the local bookstore or find ourselves on a #1 list does not crush our passion. Even though to some, publishing is the only and a real measure of a good author, poet, and columnist.  Still we continue to write and amass pages that one day might pile forgotten or kept by loved ones, somewhere, until the space they take is claimed.

Payment for our art is significant. We feel appreciated when someone puts a price on our words. I have copies of checks received for a few poems and articles, and although I peddle my stuff for free on my blog or social media, I am looking to be published.  It gives me hope to know some self-published authors that to me have said more and are better than many “famous” best sellers.  I also know good writers who might never publish.

I will continue to write, grateful for the proceeds but not solely for it. I do want the eyes of others on my pages, but I will write because I must: Or what else? Even now when still in my pj's, the news on TV, my husband walks in, and I say, “I just had to write this…” I accept a kiss, and his “I know.” I had promised some eggs and toast, but I glance at the time and its past noon!

Share before publishing

This article [SWP: BEHIND THE BOOK]: SHELTER US, PART 2 Posted BY LAURA NICOLE DIAMOND on She Writes grabbed my attention. Laura tells how she shared her book Shelter Us before she published.

I have shared the coming out of VIRGINS, my paranormal breakthrough novel, and the first in my ROLO series, for several months. I am still working on edits after I sent it yet another editor and friend I really trust.

Once done, I think I will download the first few chapters, about 30 pages into a PDF, and offer them for free. To those that read them and send me a review, I will provide the rest of the book on a PDF for free.