Welcome to Ron’s Tip of the Day. Today I am looking at Control.
I recently blogged on Being an Indie and the tip was ‘Being Indie gives you control’. Today I will look at Control.
What Do I Mean by Control?
When I started writing I made certain decisions. My first novel was based on the Bible. Although my book was fiction, it was important that it was based on reliable history. I therefore wanted it based on the King James Bible since that has stood the test of time and is considered by knowledgeable Bible experts to be the only Bible for English speaking people. Yes, there are other versions, but these have serious historical, reliability, and accuracy issues.
Control in this case meant I wanted the ability to insist on the Bible I quoted from.
It also means that I would be able to design the book interior as I wanted. But I quickly found out that the publisher had greater control that I did. Same thing for book covers. These are important elements affect an author’s success and the publishers had control over that.
I Thought Self-Publishing Meant You Have Control
Me too. But you don’t. They have the final say. You can’t change your mind and go with someone else, because you paid $400 – $800 or more for the package and you paid it upfront. But as an Indie you can go with KDP or someone similar and pay only for the things you want. If you use their tools you might not spend any money!
Tip of the Day: The more control you have, the better; and you save money.
You can get our free Guide to Writing by contacting us at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com. Plus we will send you our Free Brochure which tells you about our services.
ARE YOU A BOOK REVIEWER? I am always looking for book reviews for R. Frederick Riddle and Tess Riddle books. I value your reviews.
If you would like to review our books contact me at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com with the subject line indicating that desire. An example of an appropriate subject line would be: ‘Seek to review [book Title].’ In the email make sure to indicate your email address, your name, and the choice of copy (PDF or Epub).
– – – – – – –
R Frederick Riddle is the Editor of TR Writing Services providing help to struggling and/or new authors to write and publish their books. In addition, he is best known for Christian Historical and Speculative Fiction. He is also co-founder and Vice President of T&R Independent Books where his books are featured. To reply to any blog you have the option of commenting on a blog and/or sending an email to marketing@tr-indbkstore.com. You may also be interested in his Facebook page at RFrederickRiddlesWorld.
Welcome to Ron’s Tuesday’s Tip. Every Tuesday I will share a tip with you. This week I am looking at A New Author on the Block.
I’m taking a little break from my usual tips. Instead I wish to talk about a brand-new author who just debut her first novel. Her name is Tess Riddle and I admit right up front that I’m biased (she’s my wife). Hopefully soon she will allow me to interview her for this blog.
Who is She?
Tess Riddle’s everyday name is Teresa Riddle. As such she is a Christian, Active Church member, Housewife, President of our publishing company (T&R Independent Books), and cancer fighter.
Among her many skills is that of a secretary, as she worked many years in the corporate world as a secretary. She can be tough, as some callers learned when they called the office and used profanity. She can be very efficient and capable as her bosses learned and appreciated.
Teresa is the wife of Ronald Riddle (that’s me) and they live in Port Charlotte, Florida.
What is the Name of her Book?
But as Tess Riddle she is the author of Haney Place Secrets which is book one of the Rita Honeycutt series. This novel involves teenage Rita Honeycutt with a nose for mystery (her brothers would probably call her nosey).
She is already working on book two. Her vision for the series appears to be Rita solving mysteries not only in her hometown, but anywhere Tess’s imagination takes her.
Tell Us More About the Book
Haney Place Secrets is a novel not only involving a teenage girl, but it involves her twin brothers (also teens), and her teen friends. It is a novel aimed at the preteen and teen aged readers. However, adults will enjoy this book as well.
The plot involves the news that the Haney Place house, deeded to the town of Terryville, is going to be sold to a mysterious buyer. Rita and company are asked to go into the house and pack up whatever they find. In the process of this job they discover another mystery that leads them deeper into the Haney Place and may put them in danger!
Although I am biased, I can say with all honesty that I enjoyed the story. I spent a lot of time editing and preparing the book for publication and have come away from that experience with profound respect for Tess Riddle’s writing skill. I fully expect more books.
Where Can We Get Her Book?
Glad you asked. We’ve made it easy for people. You can simply go to our website at TR-WritingServices.com/catalog and click on ‘mystery’. There you will find the book with a link to her Amazon page.
Or if you don’t want to do that, you can always go to her Amazon Author Page which is at amazon.com/author/tessriddle. You can click on the picture or title and it will go to the book’s detail page. There you’ll find links to the paperback and the eBook.
We are also looking at local marketing where we can sell the books directly or through local bookstores. This is something we are taking a serious look at and will let you know more about in the future.
Does She have a Blog?
At this time she does not. However, I will certainly encourage her to write articles for my blog. As mentioned above, I plan on doing an interview with her about the book. I think you’ll discover more about her and perhaps a hint at the future.
Our business does have a YouTube channel and we already have a short reveal about her new book. She has indicated that another YouTube video may be in her future.
Did She Use TR-Writing Services?
In a manner of speaking she made thorough use of our services. As editor of the service I read, offered advice, checked grammar and spelling, and generally performed all the functions that I would do for any of our clients. So the answer is yes.
She is listed as a client and has her own page (a free service we provide to all clients who’ve published through us which they can use to promote their books). This page will include all future books she writes.
For information on TR Writing Services (“we edit, proof, and publish the book within you”) contact us at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com. We have a Free booklet telling you about our services. And we are upfront on our prices (all are low).
ARE YOU A BOOK REVIEWER? I am always looking for book reviews. Whether it is Perished The World That Was (Book One), World of Noah and the Ark (Book Two),World of Shem (Book Three), World of Abraham (Book Four) or Death Ship (Book One), Pauline A New Home (Book Two), Task Force Hunter (Book Three), Black Death (Book Four), Rise of I.C.E.S. (Book Five), or Battle at Proxima Centauri. I value your reviews.
And now we add to the list. You may review Tess Riddle’s novel Haney Place Secrets simply by following the steps below.
If you would like to review any of these books contact me at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com with the subject line indicating that desire. An example of an appropriate subject line would be: ‘Seek to review [book Title].’ In the email make sure to indicate your email address, your name, and the choice of copy (PDF or Epub).
– – – – – – –
R Frederick Riddle is the Editor of TR Writing Services providing help to struggling and/or new authors to write and publish their books. In addition, he is the author of several books and is best known for Christian Historical and Speculative Fiction. For more information on him or his books visit his Amazon Authors Page. He is also co-founder and Vice President of T&R Independent Books where his books are featured. To reply to any blog you have the option of commenting on a blog and/or sending an email to marketing@tr-indbkstore.com. You may also be interested in his Facebook page at RFrederickRiddlesWorld.
Welcome to Ron’s Tuesday’s Tip. Every Tuesday I will share a tip with you. This week I am talking about Limited Distribution.
The Topic
Recently I received a question from a visitor to my website. The lady in question desired to write her memoir and only have limited distribution. Now this may sound odd, but it is not that odd. In fact, my first client that I helped wasn’t interested in marketing her book. She was however open to letting others buy it if they so desired and that’s how she was set up.
But my point is that not everybody who has a story to write is interested in selling a lot of books. In the case of this lady it was to publish a memoir. She didn’t go into great detail, but I gathered that she wanted only a certain number of copies to give out to friends and relatives.
And that is perfectly understandable and okay!
So What Did I Tell Her?
Since she contacted us, I gave the answer in relation to our services. Other services may not have the ability to meet her needs, we do. So I communicated that to her.
So, what is My Answer?
First, she wanted to know if it was possible to only print a few copies for herself. The answer to that is ‘Yes’.
Here’s copy of my entire answer:
Thank you for your question which I will attempt to answer.
There is a way for you to do this.
The book could go through the entire process of creation, editing, proofing, and publishing. Once published, you could buy author’s copies for yourself which you can give away or sell (no royalties). After you get your copies, then you unpublish the book. I’ve never seen this happen before, but I see no reason why you can’t do it. The great thing about Kindle (the platform we use) is that you can republish later if you so desire.
If you follow the above procedure, then you would have to republish to buy additional copies. Then unpublish again. This would be advantageous if later you wanted to revise or update your book.
I would be delighted to discuss this in greater detail. Send an email to marketing@tr-indbkstore.com and refer to your memoir or interest in TR Writing Services. Remind me that we’ve already been in contact.
Now, let me go through this in greater detail.
The Process
In my message I mentioned creation, editing, proofing, and then publishing.
Creation is the first draft. The author is always the author in our system. So even as we go through the editing process the author, in most cases, has final say.
Editing is the process whereby we at TR Writing Services read the book looking for errors, such as: spelling, grammar, Clarity, and Conciseness. We have tools to help us do that, but the tools are based on technical issues. Our goal is always to produce a book that is an expression of the author’s will, style, etc.
There are times when these technical issues are paramount, but we believe that the author has his/her own goals in mind. So, while there may be an issue that needs to be addressed, the author may want to leave it as is.
An example of this would be grammar. Perhaps the grammar is relative to where the author grew up or where the scene is taking place or the education of the character speaking. These do not necessarily have to be grammatically correct. However, if there is such an overriding situation, you want to be consistent.
Once Published
At the time of publishing the author can get author’s copies. These are normally available for printing costs. So, once the book is published you should buy as many author’s copies as you desire. Then after the book has gone live, simply unpublish.
These author’s copies can be given away or sold. Just remember there are no royalties.
Post Ordering
Not really addressed in the letter other than you can republish and unpublish your book. This enables you to order new books (up to 999 per order) if the book is ‘live’. Once the order is completed you can unpublish.
Republishing
Republishing is easy. You go to your KDP Bookshelf where all your books will be shown. Go to the book in question where you will see an ellipsis (to the right). Click on that and click on Republish. (The ellipsis also enables you to perform other functions.)
Revising and Updating Book
With most publishers you must resubmit a book (and possibly pay) to update the book and have it republished. But KDP is your personal printing service, if you will.
Let’s say you use our service and publish the book. Later you want to update, do you need to go through us? NO! You can if you want to. And I would recommend it if the update is significant or perhaps you need to publish under a new title. But as a rule, you can do it yourself.
At this time, you would have your own KDP account which would allow you to update and republish your book as often as you want. I have used this ability to correct and to add material to my books.
Technically, you don’t have to unpublish the current book until the newly updated version is ready to go. This is awesome!
Discussing
There are many details in publishing a book. Since we want our authors to succeed, we want to know more about them and their book. That way we can serve them much better. It also gives the authors a chance to learn more about us. It is a win-win for everyone.
For information on TR Writing Services (“we edit, proof, and publish the book within you”) contact us at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com. We have a Free booklet telling you about our services. And we are upfront on our prices (all are low).
ARE YOU A BOOK REVIEWER? I am always looking for book reviews. Whether it is Perished The World That Was (Book One), World of Noah and the Ark (Book Two),World of Shem (Book Three), World of Abraham (Book Four) or Death Ship (Book One), Pauline A New Home (Book Two), Task Force Hunter (Book Three), Black Death (Book Four), Rise of I.C.E.S. (Book Five), or Battle at Proxima Centauri. I value your reviews.
If you would like to review any of these books contact me at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com with the subject line indicating that desire. An example of an appropriate subject line would be: ‘Seek to review [book Title].’ In the email make sure to indicate your email address, your name, and the choice of copy (PDF or Epub).
– – – – – – –
R Frederick Riddle is the Editor of TR Writing Services providing help to struggling and/or new authors to write and publish their books. In addition, he is the author of several books and is best known for Christian Historical and Speculative Fiction. For more information on him or his books visit his Amazon Authors Page. He is also co-founder and Vice President of T&R Independent Books where his books are featured. To reply to any blog you have the option of commenting on a blog and/or sending an email to marketing@tr-indbkstore.com. You may also be interested in his Facebook page at RFrederickRiddlesWorld.
Welcome to Ron’s Tuesday’s Tip. Every Tuesday I will share a tip with you. This week is about: Oh no! I Goofed!
Has this happened to you?
You wrote your book; got it edited, proofed, and published. Then you discovered a glaring error.
Or how about this?
After publishing your book you received a critical email or letter that pointed out supposed errors and offered new facts that would have been good for your book.
I have had both happen to me. The first instance was with a self-publisher house. The book had been given the once over and only needed me to approve the Print Ready proof. I had forty-eight hours to review the copy and approve it.
Forty-eight hours sounds like a lot of time. But when you subtract sleep time, mealtime, and eight hours of work, you don’t have much left. I had to rush through the book and failed to see the printer’s error they had committed. It was a simple error. I had used a separator between scenes which they removed. I was so focused on words and spelling that I failed to see the missing separator. I approved it and the book was published.
Afterwards I discovered the error. But it was too late! To correct the error would require republishing the book and it would have cost me perhaps as much as it cost for the first book.
What a bummer!
The second instance took place after my wife and I co-founded T&R Independent Books. We had become Indie Publishers, which meant we were responsible for all aspects of publishing and marketing. We could farm work out, but we were responsible.
The book was published by us using CreateSpace (now KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing)). Later I received a letter from a reader who critiqued the book. He pointed out some supposed errors (which were not real errors) plus gave me additional facts. I checked them out and found that they would have been valuable inside the book.
What did I do?
In the first instance I did nothing until after establishing T&R Independent Books. One of the first things we did is set about buying back the rights to my previous books from the original publishers. Some books I was able to buy the rights, other books I was unable to do so. In these latter cases, I simply rewrote the book and assigned a new title. This is what happened to the book in the first instance.
In the second instance the book had been published by us. So I went back to Kindle and republished the book. This time it had the same title, same cover, but corrections and additions were made.
The Power of Indie
These two instances point out the power of being an Indie Publisher. I was able to rewrite the first book and correct the second book. I unpublished the second book, corrected it and republished, but I discovered I could have corrected it and republished without unpublishing in the first place. You might wonder what this cost me. Hold onto your seats: it cost absolutely nothing!
That’s right. Nothing. Instead of hundreds of dollars I spent nothing except time. That is the power of being an Indie Publisher.
Tip of the Day : Become an Indie Publisher. It’s easy and it’s worth your while.
For information on TR Writing Services (“we edit, proof, and publish the book within you”) contact us at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com. We have a Free booklet telling you about our services. And we are upfront on our prices (all are low).
ARE YOU A BOOK REVIEWER? I am always looking for book reviews. Whether it is Perished The World That Was (Book One), World of Noah and the Ark (Book Two),World of Shem (Book Three), World of Abraham (Book Four) or Death Ship (Book One), Pauline A New Home (Book Two), Task Force Hunter (Book Three), Black Death (Book Four), Rise of I.C.E.S. (Book Five), or Battle at Proxima Centauri (Book Six). I value your reviews.
If you would like to review any of these books contact me at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com with the subject line indicating that desire. An example of an appropriate subject line would be: ‘Seek to review [book Title].’ In the email make sure to indicate your email address, your name, and the choice of copy (PDF or Epub).
– – – – – – –
R Frederick Riddle is the Editor of TR Writing Services providing help to struggling and/or new authors to write and publish their books. In addition, he is the author of several books and is best known for Christian Historical and Speculative Fiction. For more information on him or his books visit his Amazon Authors Page. He is also co-founder and Vice President of T&R Independent Books where his books are featured. To reply to any blog you have the option of commenting on a blog and/or sending an email to marketing@tr-indbkstore.com. You may also be interested in his Facebook page at RFrederickRiddlesWorld.
Welcome to Ron’s Tuesday’s Tip. Every Tuesday I will share a tip with you. This week is about:Handling Rejection.
Principle
This is primarily addressed to those who plan to use a traditional publisher. Self-publishing companies rarely reject a manuscript. And Indie Publishers (that’s you!) don’t.
As a disclaimer I have never received a rejection slip because I have never used traditional publishers. As an Indie publisher I have the ultimate power or authority and I can exercise that authority over when my book is published. I may change my mind, but if I want it published it gets published.
In our Guide to Writing we spent very little time on this subject, but if you’re not an Indie publisher you need this information. So, I am expanding on what the book talked about.
Never let rejection slips stop you!
In the tip below I advise that you Use rejection slips as learning tools. Why?
It’s really simple. In life every experience is a tool that you can learn from. Rejection slips are no different.
Use them as you would any tool.
Learn from them
Why was it rejected?
Did it come with suggestions?
Are the suggestions worthwhile in your thinking?
Remember the editor, agent, or whatever is not THE authority.
It is their opinion based on years of experience
But they don’t know you or your motivation
They are concerned with marketability
Don’t take it personally
All they probably know about you is based on your manuscript
Their advice or rejection is not meant to discourage you but enlighten you
Use the criticism to write a better book
Use it as a steppingstone to your eventual success
Incorporate their advice if it doesn’t violate your standards
Rewrite and try again.
Tip: Use rejection slips as learning tools to help you become a better writer. Don’t take it personally.
Example
Since I have never had a book rejected, I have no practical example to share with you. But the more meaningful example is one’s reaction to any roadblock, which is all that a rejection slip amounts to in one’s career.
That said check out your response to other roadblocks. If your response works in those cases, maybe it will with rejection.
But better is this: As I said in the Tips: Use rejection slips as learning tools to help you become a better writer and don’t take it personally.
Application
My suggestion is to stay away from the Traditional Publishers and the preceding is only one reason. But if you must use Traditional Publishers, then please pay close attention when listening to them. They each have their own preferences and not following them will bring on a rejection quickly.
You have a responsibility to yourself. That is why I emphasize treating rejection as a tool. Instead of being discouraged, see it as something that will only make you a better writer!
Indie Publishing may be the answer.
As mentioned above you have the ultimate power as an Indie Publisher. That power is to evaluate your book, take any criticism you receive and make it a better book. One of the advantages of being an Indie publisher using the Kindle (KDP) platform is that you can republish without extra cost.
Kindle makes it easy for you to republish your book. You can leave the book in its current published form (valuable if your book is generating sales) while you edit it. You can edit the book according to your desires or ideas. And at the proper time when it is ready to be published, you simply unpublish it and then republish the new updated book.
You have corrected your errors, republished it without losing much exposure and thereby dollars. And with Kindle you will be able to use KDP Select.
This is one of the reasons we use Kindle Direct Publishing. It gives us the authority usually reserved only for the traditional publishers. But as an independent I am writer, agent, publisher, and marketer all rolled into one. It is risky, but it is worth it!
Rejection may be your chance to succeed!
For information on TR Writing Services (“we edit, proof, and publish the book within you”) contact us at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com. We have a Free booklet telling you about our services. And we are upfront on our prices (all are low).
ARE YOU A BOOK REVIEWER? I am always looking for book reviews. Whether it is Perished The World That Was (Book One), World of Noah and the Ark (Book Two),World of Shem (Book Three), World of Abraham (Book Four) or Death Ship (Book One), Pauline A New Home (Book Two), Task Force Hunter (Book Three), Black Death (Book Four), or Rise of I.C.E.S. (Book Five), I value your reviews.
If you would like to review any of these books contact me at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com with the subject line indicating that desire. An example of an appropriate subject line would be: ‘Seek to review [book Title].’ In the email make sure to indicate your email address, your name, and the choice of copy (PDF or Epub).
– – – – – – –
R Frederick Riddle is the Editor of TR Writing Services providing help to struggling and/or new authors to write and publish their books. In addition, he is the author of several books and is best known for Christian Historical and Speculative Fiction. For more information on him or his books visit his Amazon Authors Page. He is also co-founder and Vice President of T&R Independent Books where his books are featured. To reply to any blog you have the option of commenting on a blog and/or sending an email to marketing@tr-indbkstore.com. You may also be interested in his Facebook page at RFrederickRiddlesWorld.
Welcome to Ron’s Tuesday’s Tip. Every Tuesday I will share a tip with you. This week is about: Choosing a Publisher.
The following is based on the Guide to Writing book. In that book I wrote about Self-Publishing, Traditional, and Indie Publishing. My primary focus today is on Indie focusing, but I will also cover the other types, so you get a more complete picture.
Traditional Publishing
Unless you are an established author
it is very difficult to get with a traditional publisher. That is because the
houses are well established, have a reputation, and, probably, don’t want to
take a risk on an unproven novice.
Even so, it is not impossible.
Many of these Traditional Publishing Houses will not even consider a manuscript unless the author is represented by an agent. This is good because when dealing with them you need to have the expertise and knowledge of the agent on your side.
It is also important to remember that
some traditional publishers specialize in genre. Some only want established
authors. Some may temporarily suspend new acquisitions because they already
have a boatload.
But there are some traditional publishers looking for new authors. If you write Christian fiction you may be interested in Christian Publishers. Do an Internet search for ‘Christian Publishers’ and you should find extensive lists, but I have included a few in a list further down in this blog.
Additionally, you can access a list of
publishers at http://www.everywritersresource. This is a list of publishers
taking submissions.
If you are willing to take a chance on
publishers that accept unsolicited manuscripts (and may not require an agent),
try this list.
Finally, if you are looking for a
traditional publisher that accepts new authors try Karen Fox.
Tip: Traditional Publishers are well established, have a reputation, and, probably, don’t want to take a risk on an unproven novice.
Tip #2: There are lists of publishers taking submissions, accepting new authors, and Christian publishers.
Never having been published by a
Traditional Publisher, I can’t give you a personal example. But you can access
their websites and discover their guidelines, list of clients (authors), and
success stories.
Traditional Publishing has a long success
story. They aren’t going away soon. If you feel that you have written a quality
story that will sell and you are willing to wait, then traditional publishing
may be for you.
Make use of the lists provided here
and study them. You just might strike it rich!
But don’t forget, some of these
publishers will require you have an agent. So if your heart is fixed on one of
the top publishing houses, get yourself an agent!
Self-Publishing
Self-Publishing has in many respects come into its own with resulting improvements
in quality and acceptance. One of the criticisms of Self-Publishers is they
rarely reject a manuscript. While this is true, some do reject if the
manuscript is deemed of poor quality.
You rarely get rejected if you are willing to pay the fee (usually $400-$800, or more). They are willing to publish but you should still practice thorough editing before submitting the work.
This is an alphabetical listing of some of the better known houses:
America Star *
AuthorHouse ***
Bookbaby
DiggyPOD
iUniverse***
Lightning Source
Kindle Direct Publishing
(KDP)
LuLu
Outskirts Press
Smashwords**
Tate Publishing
Trafford Publishing***
Xilbris
Zulon Press****
* Between
self-publishing and traditional. Recently opted out of publishing and is only
interested in marketing.
** Publishes eBooks only. It is free.
*** Owned by Author Solutions.
**** Christian Self-Publishing.
When I started writing I made use of AuthorHouse and America Star. In
both cases I was pleased with their work. In fact, any of the houses mentioned
above probably provide excellent quality and service.
Tip: Self-Publishing has been around for a while now with resulting improvements in quality and acceptance.
Tip #2: Self-Publishers rarely reject a manuscript.
Tip #3: There are many self-publishers out there.
It would be wise
to remember that self-publishing can be expensive. Here are some of the costs
you may have to deal with:
Professional editing and
proofing can cost from $1500 to $2,000
Professional cover design
ranges from $300 to $400
Book conversion and
layout ranges from free to $100
That’s not
including the ISBN (free to $125), Distribution (percentage of sales), and
marketing (skies the limit).
As mentioned earlier, I have used two of the houses listed. Their
cover quality was very good (very important to me) as was the overall print
quality.
Since I was on a budget, I did my own marketing. America Star provided
me a little more help although AuthorHouse may have caught up since I last
published with them.
If you are choosing between Traditional and Self-Publishing,
Self-Publishing is the better in my opinion. That said, there is yet a better
way.
Indie
Publishing
These days the author has more responsibility than ever before and
more opportunities!
In days gone by the author wrote a novel, submitted it to a publisher,
and once accepted, relaxed. But that is no longer true!
There are all kinds of publishers out there. But here I want to
present you with a different perspective. I mentioned that there is a better
way than self-publishing. You are about to see what I was talking about.
First a brief history. I published my first novel in 2003. Since then
I have written a number of books. The first four books were all published by
self-publishers. But in 2013 I discovered Smashwords.com and published my first
eBook. (My other books are also in the eBook format, but the publisher did this
because I paid for it.)
This discovery has changed my life and now I am about to reveal to you
what I believe is a better way to publish.
That better way is simply: You are the publisher!Or Indie Publisher!
At the time there was almost no information on the subject but today
there’s considerable. It is called Indie Publishing which tells you right off
the bat that as a publisher you are independent. This is an important
distinction.
Indie Publishing is the author taking ultimate charge of all elements
of writing. Basically, it means selecting a printer or publisher to print our
books. And there are publishers out there willing to be our printer and even
our marketer.
The one I am most familiar with is Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). CreateSpace
whom I was with merged with KDP so now all my print books are with KDP. Plus, I
have eBooks with KDP and a few with Smashwords.
I will discuss KDP more in the example. I have also located at least
one other printer called Best Value Copy. They are an online printing service
that provides quality work at reasonable prices. However, I have not used them
or any other publishing platform because KDP has proven to me that they are
very capable and affordable.
In looking for a quality printer you can try your own neighborhood.
For example, there is a Staples store not far from us that gives business
discounts to authors using their printing services. That suggests the possibility
that other office supply stores may offer the same services.
But assuming the role of publisher is more than just getting a
printer. You literally take on the responsibilities of a publisher. You may
have to seek your own ISBN, copyright, and other important items.
In our case, we listed ourselves with the State of Florida with a DBA
(Doing Business As) name of T&R Independent Books. Because we use KDP we
are able to use their ISBNs which are free, although they also sell other ISBNs
for a modest price. Copyrights are free.
It is both exciting and scary. But the rewards can be awesome. For
example, a self-publisher may give us anywhere from 8% to 40% royalty depending
on volume of books sold. But as our own publisher the percentage jumps up to 60%
and more (before costs and taxes) from the first book sold.
In addition to that, we have virtual control over every aspect. It is
true that with Kindle Direct some control lies with them, but it is also true
that such controls are limited.
In establishing our own publishing business, we also took on the
marketing of the books. We are now be
able to use the marketing tools that we used to buy from the publisher. Now we will
have the authority to market the books as we see fit without incurring
exorbitant costs.
Tip: As a publisher you pay the ISBN, the copyright, and other legal fees.
Tip #2: Indie Publishers can get gross royalties of 60% or more. Even after taxes the profit is excellent.
I promised to discuss Kindle Direct Publishing and here we go.
When my wife first expressed the desire to start writing her own
novels it fitted right in with the idea of T&R Independent Books. So, we
immediately began researching what the costs would be to publish.
We searched the internet for both local and online printers.
Eventually we settled on KDP because of three primary factors:
We would retain
ownership of all rights.
Costs were
reasonable.
KDP would provide
us worldwide marketing (distribution).
(At this time, we were dealing with CreateSpace but in 2018 they
merged with KDP. KDP is virtually the same as CreateSpace and both owned by
Amazon.)
These are career changing factors. Although we have and will do our
own marketing, being in the KDP loop will expand our marketing a thousand times
over!
While their imprint will be on our books, there will be no question of
the identity of the real publisher which is T&R Independent Books.
In establishing T&R Independent Books we also took over what was
formerly known as RFrederickRiddle’s Bookstore. But instead of marketing our
books from our own website (an excellent marketing option) we closed down the
store and opted to direct all potential buyers to Amazon and Kindle. We still
have control over the marketing, including the tracking of sales but the
customer has the familiarity of buying on Amazon. Plus KDP has powerful
tracking tools!
KDP enables us to exercise several marketing options, some being free.
Does this guarantee sales? Of course not. But it does give us maximum control
and flexibility.
When we started out in 2014 Indie Publishing was rather new and
unknown, at least to us. But now becoming your own publisher is no longer a new
idea. It has the potential to change the publishing landscape in years to come.
Not only the publishing landscape, but your future. You should
seriously consider this avenue. I can almost guarantee you that your book will
be published sooner than traditionally, and it will cost you dramatically less.
Quality is another story as it will be up to you to either do the editing or
hire a professional.
Getting published doesn’t guarantee sales. But once again being an
Indie Marketer involves great responsibility and great rewards. Being an In
Marketer has great potential!
A note about TR Writing Services
Our costs to you are very low compared to the averages stated above. We provide editing, proofing, and publishing services under affordable plans. In addition we give each client who publishes through us their own webpage. This webpage includes the author’s picture, brief biography, book cover, and book description with links to their Amazon page. You can use this page for your own marketing efforts!
These links give you the opportunity to work on your next book rather
than being over-burdened with collecting payments and shipping of the books,
which also means you don’t have to maintain a stockpile of books in your living
room.
For information on TR Writing Services (“we edit, proof, and publish
the book within you”) contact us at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com.
We have a Free booklet telling you about our services. And we are upfront on
our prices (all are low).
ARE YOU A BOOK REVIEWER? I am
always looking for book reviews. Whether it is Perished The World That Was
(Book One), World of Noah and the Ark (Book Two),World of Shem
(Book Three), World of Abraham (Book Four) or Death Ship (Book One), Pauline A New Home (Book Two), Task
Force Hunter (Book Three), Black Death (Book Four), or Rise of
I.C.E.S. (Book Five), I value your reviews.
If you would like to review any of these books contact me at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com with the subject line indicating that desire. An example of an
appropriate subject line would be: ‘Seek to review [book Title].’ In the email
make sure to indicate your email address, your name, and the choice of copy
(PDF or ePub).
– – – – – – –
R Frederick Riddle is the Editor of TR Writing Services providing help to struggling and/or new authors to write and publish their books. In addition he is the author of several books and is best known for Christian Historical and Speculative Fiction. For more information on him or his books visit his Amazon Authors Page. He is also co-founder and Vice President of T&R Independent Books where his books are featured. To reply to any blog you have the option of commenting on a blog and/or sending an email to marketing@tr-indbkstore.com. You may also be interested in his Facebook page at RFrederickRiddlesWorld.
Welcome to Ron’s Tuesday’s Tip. Every Tuesday I will share a tip with you. This week is about: Successful Writing is not a Hobby.
Being an author
is both a journey and an adventure. Plus, it is always a challenge.
When reviewing your taxes the IRS views your business as a hobby if it doesn’t make a profit within 3 years. That strict rule should be regarded as simply wrong!
Writing is a
business whether you profit or not. I’m going to look at 3 very important
attributes of a successful writer. These are Writing is a Journey, Writing is
an Adventure, and Writing is a Challenge.
Writing is a
Journey.
When I first
started writing I was a teenager. Nobody in my family or elsewhere knew of my
secret desire to be a writer. I was afraid they would mock me. But that is when
my journey began.
I knew nothing
about writing other than I wanted to write books, novels in particular. My
first step in my journey actually took place as a child. I liked to daydream
and I had a good imagination. I would adopt characters from television and I
would become that character, then I would fight the bad guys. I was a hero both
on Earth and in outer space. But transitioning to a teenager I started writing
my stories. The problem was that to continue as a hero, I had to write First
Person. But that made me uncomfortable, so I changed to Third Person. This was
the second step of my journey. This was an important step that has influence me
ever since.
Over the years
my writing was interrupted by service in the Navy, but I resumed after I got
out. It was as a young man that I came across an ad for the Famous Writers
School. I applied and was accepted (the school accepted just about anyone). I
then paid for the course which I believe was a three-year course. I’ve sense
learned that there was much dishonesty on the school’s part and that their fee
was excessive. But I didn’t know that and started taking the course.
In any case, I
did well in the course and was getting more confident. Then in 1974 I was laid
off from work. I ended up dropping out and after resuming work I never reapplied.
But my journey continued. Whether my grades were honest or not, I believed them
to be and I pressed forward. This was my third step.
In 1973 I’d asked
Jesus to forgive me my sins and come into my heart. Over time this proved not
only life changing, but much of the trash (sin) in my life was not only
forgiven but purged from my life. This was my fourth step in my journey as a
writer, but more importantly it was an eternal step in my life. The influence
of this new life would become far greater than a mere step!
From 1973 to 2001 I pressed forward trying to
write. After dropping out of the Famous Writers School I continued trying to
write without any guidance. Time after time I would start writing. Sometimes I managed
to write several chapters, but inevitably I would run into a wall. That would
stop me cold!
Writing is an
Adventure.
My journey
continues to this day, but becoming a Christian turned it into an adventure. At
first, I tried writing poems. I had one notable success with that in that in
won my future wife’s heart. But writing poems was not my desire and I
eventually stopped.
I then took up
computer programming. I taught myself how to write Visual Basic programming and
was able to write short programs for work and for myself. But as the computer
programming got progressively more complicated and expensive. Being
self-trained I couldn’t make the transition to the more complicated codes coming
on scene. Thus, ended my brief career as a computer programmer. That had been
an adventure, but I was soon to begin what I consider the adventure of a
lifetime!
In 2001 I had been a Christian for 28 years. By this time I developed a morning devotions routine that included morning prayer and Bible study. One morning I was reading the Book of Genesis and the story of Noah and the Ark. Unlike the myth of Gilgamesh which was written after the fall of the Tower of Babel, the Bible story is a firsthand account probably written by Shem, the son of Noah, about 100 years or more before Gilgamesh . While often treated as a myth it is not.
As I read the account it suddenly came to me that here is a skeletal account of the events. God wasn’t interested in entertaining us but explain history in such a way as to point to the coming of Jesus. But I, being interested in writing a novel and a lover of history, realized that here was a plot filled with characters and that I had the opportunity to clothe the facts with fictionalized skin to bring the people and events alive! It changed my writing career.
The next phase
of my adventure involved research. Outside of the Bible there is no evidence
telling us how people lived before the Flood. But both the Bible and secular history
tells us a lot about after the Flood.
Using the Bible
as the primary source of information (it’s the only reliable source) I began digging.
It didn’t take long to realize that evolutionary theory has so corrupted our
understanding of history that secular history varies, is often contradictory,
and confusing. But when I focused on the 100 to 300 years after the Flood, I
began noticing facts, such as the fact that a highly developed civilization
existed shortly after the Flood. How do you explain that?
Doing the
research proved to be hard, tiring, and eventually rewarding. It was an
adventure. Researching for your story is not always so rewarding, but it is
always necessary.
Writing is a
Challenge.
The story of my
researching the pre-Flood and post-Flood history could easily be placed here.
Research is a challenge. But my focus here is on getting published.
In 2003 I
submitted my first novel to AuthorHouse. As I recall it cost me about $400.
AuthorHouse belongs in the category of a self-publisher. As I have blogged in
the past there are three distinct types of publishers; Traditional, Self, and
Indie.
At the time I
was unaware of Indie publishing (I believe it came along later). The term
Self-publishers suggests that you the author have control. You don’t. What it
means is you pay upfront for the publishing of your book. Basically, that is
the ‘self’ part. They control almost all of the power levers. Fortunately, I
did know this and opted out of their Editing resource. I used quotations from
the King James Version and feared they would opt for the unreliable newer
versions. Aside from that I had very little control over the publishing
process. Still my first novel got published and I was able to celebrate my
becoming an author!
In the summer of
2014 my wife, Teresa, and I founded T&R Independent Books and we became
Indie Publishers! This was the beginning of a new adventure and a lot of new
challenges. Since then I’ve republished all of my previous books and published
newer books. Soon we hope to start publishing Teresa’s books (under the name
Tess).
Now, we are
embarking on another venture under the T&R Independent Books business. This
year we have opened our new service called TR Writing Services. I have
discussed this in my last Tuesday Tip: Indie Publishing. In short, we guide any
writer who wants our service through the various steps of getting published.
This involves editing spelling and grammar, proofing, setting up their account
with KDP, and getting the book published.
We are also
thinking about providing their own web page on our website. It would include
their photo, bio, book cover, and description with a link to their Amazon page.
This would provide them a first step in their marketing.
What is a Successful Writer?
There are many
answers to that question. The most common one is that a successful writer is
one who makes money. The IRS would certainly agree with that idea, but is
that really what success is all about?
That, in my opinion, is a short-sighted idea. Rather than money being the determinant factor why not the reading pleasure your book(s) bring to people who read your books?
A hobby suggests
something you do in your spare time and maybe only a couple of hours a week.
But a serious writer does far more than that!
No, I believe a
successful writer is an author who works the craft of writing virtually every
day. He/she invests time, energy, and money into their craft. And they write
compelling stories. Money is a desirable byproduct or outcome, not the sole
determinant of success.
For information on TR Writing Services (“we edit, proof, and publish
the book within you”) contact us at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com.
We have a Free booklet telling you about our services. And we are upfront on
our prices (all are low).
VISIT MY AUTHOR’S PAGE TODAY: amazon.com/author/rfrederickriddle.
ARE YOU A BOOK REVIEWER? I am
always looking for book reviews. Whether it is Perished The World That Was
(Book One), World of Noah and the Ark (Book Two),World of Shem
(Book Three), World of Abraham (Book Four) or Death Ship (Book One), Pauline A New Home (Book Two), Task
Force Hunter (Book Three), Black Death (Book Four), or Rise of
I.C.E.S. (Book Five), I value your reviews.
If you would like to review any of these books contact me at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com with the subject line indicating that desire. An example of an
appropriate subject line would be: ‘Seek to review [book Title].’ In the email
make sure to indicate your email address, your name, and the choice of copy
(PDF or ePub).
– – – – – – –
R Frederick Riddle is the Editor of TR Writing Services providing help to struggling and/or new authors to write and publish their books. In addition he is the author of several books and is best known for Christian Historical and Speculative Fiction. For more information on him or his books visit his Amazon Authors Page. He is also co-founder and Vice President of T&R Independent Books where his books are featured. To reply to any blog you have the option of commenting on a blog and/or sending an email to marketing@tr-indbkstore.com. You may also be interested in his Facebook page at RFrederickRiddlesWorld.
Welcome to Ron’s Tuesday’s Tip. Every Tuesday I will share a tip with you. This weeks blog is a followup to last Friday’s blog Do You Desire to be an Independent Author? This week it’s about:Indie Publishing.
Principle
These days the author has more responsibility than ever before – and
more opportunities!
In days gone by the author wrote a novel, submitted it to a publisher,
and once accepted, relaxed. But that is no longer true!
There are all kinds of publishers out there. But here I want to
present you with a different perspective. There are three kinds of publishing:
Traditional, Self, and Indie. You are about to see what I was talking about.
Traditional Publishing
This is basically represented by the big publishing houses. It is a
far cry from the publishers your mom and pop knew, although some have the same
name. These publishers are in almost total control.
Nowadays many of them require you to have an agent before they’ll look at your manuscript. That’s a red flag to me. Nothing against agents, but the whole experience of searching for an agent, finding the right agent, being rejected or accepted by the agent, and then submitting my work to a publisher is time consuming, can be expensive, and does not guarantee being published.
As for the publishers themselves, they control just about everything
from submission, to editing, and to publishing. They’ll help you with marketing,
but you are ultimately responsible for that. Unless you already are well-known.
Traditional publishers do pay royalties which are usually based on reaching
certain predetermined book sales goals.
Self-Publishing
Although the name suggests you are in charge it really means you pay
up front to have your book published. Thus, some people refer to it as vanity
publishing. It has come a long way, but they still have control over the most
important aspects of the publishing experience.
And you still are responsible for the marketing.
Indie Publishing
This is the subject of today’s blog.
But first a brief history. I self-published my first novel in 2003.
Since then I have written a number of books. The first four books were all
published by self-publishers. But in 2013 I discovered Smashwords.com and
published my first eBook. (My other books were also in eBook format, but the publisher
did this because I paid for it.)
This discovery has changed my life and now I am about to reveal to you
what I believe is a better way to publish.
That better way is simply: You as an Indie publisher!
At the time there was almost no information on the subject but today there’s considerable. It is called Indie Publishing which tells you right off the bat that as a publisher you are independent! This is an important distinction.
Indie Publishing is the author taking ultimate charge. Basically, it means selecting a printer or publisher to print your books. And there are publishers out there willing to be your printer and even your marketer.
The one I am most familiar with is Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). CreateSpace
whom I was with previously merged with KDP, so now all my print books are with
KDP. Plus, I have eBooks with KDP. I also have used Smashwords for e-Books, but
they are not my primary.
I will discuss KDP more in the example. I have also located at least
one other printer called Best Value Copy. They are an online printing service
that provides quality work at reasonable prices. However, I have not used them
or any other publishing platform because KDP has proven to me that they are very
capable and affordable.
In looking for a quality printer you can try your own neighborhood.
For example, there is a Staples store not far from us that gives business
discounts to authors using their printing services. That suggests the
possibility that other office supply stores may offer the same services.
But assuming the role of publisher is more than just getting a
printer. You literally take on the responsibilities of a publisher! You
may have to seek your own ISBN, copyright, and other important items.
In our case, we listed ourselves with the State of Florida with a DBA
(Doing Business As) name of T&R Independent Books. Because we use KDP we
are able to use their ISBNs which are free, although they also sell other ISBNs
for a modest price. Copyrights are free.
It is both exciting and scary. But the rewards can be awesome. For example, a self-publisher may give us anywhere from 8% to 40% royalty depending on volume of books sold. But as our own publisher the percentage jumps up to 60% and more (before costs and taxes). And no predetermined sales goals; you get the royalties from the start.
In addition to that, we have virtual control over every aspect. It is
true that with Kindle Direct some control lies with them, but it is also true
that such controls are limited.
In establishing our own publishing business we also took on the marketing of the books, which is another subject. But in short, we are now able to use the marketing tools that we used to buy from the publisher. Now we have the authority to market the books as we see fit without incurring exorbitant costs.
Tip #1: As an Indie publisher you pay for the ISBN (if necessary), the copyright, and other legal fees.
Tip #2: Indie publishers can get gross royalties of 60% and more. Even after taxes the profits are excellent.
Example
I promised to discuss Kindle Direct Publishing and here we go.
When my wife first expressed the desire to start writing her own
novels it fitted right in with the idea of T&R Independent Books. So, we
immediately began researching what the costs would be to publish.
We searched the internet for both local and online printers.
Eventually we settled on KDP because of three primary factors:
We would retain
ownership of all rights.
Costs were
reasonable.
KDP would provide
us worldwide marketing.
(At this time we were dealing with CreateSpace but in 2018 they merged
with KDP. KDP is virtually the same as CreateSpace and both are owned by
Amazon.)
These are career changing factors. Although we have and will do our
own marketing, being in the KDP loop will expand our marketing a thousand times
over!
While their imprint will be on our books, there will be no question of
the identity of the real publisher which is T&R Independent Books.
Application
In establishing T&R Independent Books we also took over what was
formerly known as RFrederickRiddle’s Bookstore. But instead of marketing our
books from our own website (an excellent marketing option) we closed down the
store and opted to direct all potential buyers to Amazon and Kindle. We still
have control over the marketing, including the tracking of sales but the
customer has the familiarity of buying on Amazon. Plus, KDP has powerful
tracking tools!
KDP enables us to exercise several marketing options, some being free.
Does this guarantee sales? Of course not. But it does give us maximum control
and flexibility.
Becoming your own publisher is no longer a new idea. And it has the
potential to change the publishing landscape in years to come. You should
seriously consider this avenue.
For information on TR Writing Services contact us at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com.
We have a Free booklet telling you about our services. And we are upfront on
our prices (all are low).
ARE YOU A BOOK REVIEWER? I am
always looking for book reviews. Whether it is Perished The World That Was
(Book One), World of Noah and the Ark (Book Two),World of Shem
(Book Three), World of Abraham (Book Four) or Death Ship (Book One), Pauline A New Home (Book Two), Task
Force Hunter (Book Three), Black Death (Book Four), or Rise of
I.C.E.S. (Book Five), I value your reviews.
If you would like to review any of these books contact me at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com with the subject line indicating that desire. An example of an
appropriate subject line would be: ‘Seek to review [book Title].’ In the email
make sure to indicate your email address, your name, and the choice of copy
(PDF or ePub).
– – – – – – –
R Frederick
Riddle is the Editor of TR Writing
Services providing help to struggling and/or new
authors to write and publish their books. In addition he is the author of
several books and is best known for Christian Historical and Speculative
Fiction. For more information on him or his books visit his Amazon Authors Page. He is also
co-founder and Vice President of T&R Independent Books where his books are featured. To reply to any blog you have the
option of commenting on a blog and/or sending an email to marketing@tr-indbkstore.com. You may also be interested in his Facebook page at RFrederickRiddlesWorld.
Every week
I deal with different subjects in this blog. I also post my blog to my Facebook
page at RFrederickRiddlesWorld. This
week I am taking a look at Do You Desire to be an Independent Author?
Independence.
Below is an excerpt from my book TR
Independent Books Guide to Writing:
This is one of the most common motivational
factors in anyone’s arsenal.
We have an inner desire to be independent,
to be free to do our own thing. Think of a baby or young child, they often have
an “I’d rather do it myself” attitude that needs to be broken. Hopefully it
will be tamed rather than merely broken.
TIP: The desire to be independent can lead to bad decisions, but it can also lead to great decision making!
Example
Shortly after my first novel was published I began to see the
advantages of self-publishing. Although the publisher did an excellent job on
my book and even offered marketing tools for me to use at attractive prices, I
was the one expected to do the work.
This is true of most writers unless they are famous in their own right
or have an agent. But for those of us relatively unknown and not having an
agent, it is a true experience.
I had the desire to do it myself, but lacked the knowhow. As time
passed others (publishers) still published my books and collected money in the
process.
But the day came when I decided to make the jump.
Application
My wife and I are a team. Up until recently I wrote the books and she
critiqued them. But then her own desire to write began to surface. And it
wasn’t to merely copy me but to establish her own writing career in her own
genre.
In the summer of 2014 I took her out to eat at the Big M Supper Club
(better known as McDonald’s). As you can see I didn’t spare any expense.
I had an idea I wanted to share with her. For eleven years I had an independent online bookstore. And it had enjoyed success up until we moved to Florida to take care of her mother. The care of her mother who had Alzheimer’s became a full-time job thus requiring the closing of the store. The store was gone but the idea of having independence never died.
What was my new
idea?
In short, I wanted share the new idea of the two of us forming a new
business with her as the President (she has an MBA) and myself serving as the
Vice President. I prayed to God before presenting this idea because I didn’t
know how she’d react. She’d always been supportive of my writing career but
would she support getting involved this way?
But Teresa jumped at it. She had long wanted her own business. Even
within the bookstore she’d had a division devoted to creating and selling
cards. The concept of having a business in partnership with me was the spark
that was needed.
We decided upon T&R Independent Books because ‘T’ would stand for
Teresa, while ‘R’ would stand for Ronald, Independent marked us as unique, and
books obviously referred to our product. T&R Independent Books represented
everything we wanted to be as writers!
I learned at this time that she also wanted to write novels. I was
delighted. That meant our new company would have two authors providing the
merchandise to be sold. So we formed the company. Then happy days, right? Not
exactly. Like any new business we had growing pains, which in this case
involved an unexpected heart attack.
But we persevered and worked our way through the whole experience. At
first our efforts were directed in getting the company organized and ready to
do business. By the summer of 2016 we had published two books (nonfiction and a
novel). And since then we have continued to work to publish new books and
Teresa (aka Tess) began seriously working on her debut novel.
Whatever success God sends our way the formation of T&R
Independent Books marked us as entrepreneurs.
And now we’ve added TR Writing Services. This endeavor is for the
purpose of helping writers like you. At one time we thought of starting an
academy but this book pretty well covers that need. But how about a low cost
service that enables the beginning or struggling author to get their book crafted
with good grammar, spelling, book cover, and published. These kinds of services
are usually expensive but we decided to offer a service that most people could
afford. So on February 11, 2019 TR Writing Services was launched.
VISIT MY AUTHOR’S PAGE TODAY: amazon.com/author/rfrederickriddle.
ARE YOU A BOOK REVIEWER? I am
always looking for book reviews. Whether it is Perished The World That Was
(Book One), World of Noah and the Ark (Book Two),World of Shem
(Book Three), World of Abraham (Book Four) or Death Ship (Book One), Pauline A New Home (Book Two), Task
Force Hunter (Book Three), or Black Death (Book Four), I value your reviews.
If you would like to review any of these books contact me at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com with the subject line indicating that desire. An example of an
appropriate subject line would be: ‘Seek to review [book Title].’ In the email
make sure to indicate your email address, your name, and the choice of copy
(PDF or ePub).
– – – – – – –
R Frederick
Riddle is the Editor of TR Writing
Services providing help to struggling and/or new
authors to write and publish their books. In addition he is the author of
several books and is best known for Christian Historical and Speculative
Fiction. For more information on him or his books visit his Amazon Authors Page. He is also co-founder
and Vice President of T&R Independent Books where his books are featured. To reply to any blog you have the
option of commenting on a blog and/or sending an email to marketing@tr-indbkstore.com. You may also be interested in his Facebook page at RFrederickRiddlesWorld.
Welcome to Ron’s Tuesday’s Tip. Every Tuesday I will share a tip with
you. This week is about:The importance of the Review Copy.
Let’s use your imagination for a
moment. You’ve written your book whether it’s fiction or non-fiction. You’ve
taken advantage of built-in spelling and grammar checkers; you’ve spent hours
check your book and now have an error free book. You submit your book to KDP
and it passes all their tests and is published.
You get your copy of the published work and decide to read it. As you read your book errors start popping up.
“Oh no!” you cry.
Your published work has errors!
The good news is that on KDP you can
edit the content and republish. But it may cost you hours or days and meantime
you have an imperfect book on sale.
I’ve been there. I have learned the
hard way that errors can slip by you. This is one of the main arguments for
hiring a proofreader. But if you can’t afford a proofreader what can you do to
protect yourself?
Order a Review Copy of your book before
it is ever published. I used to favor simply reviewing the book online. But now
I believe that such an action is flawed. There is something unique about
holding a copy of your book in your hand. For one thing it relaxes you. Instead
of being a writer checking your work, you become a reader.
Now that you are relaxed, you read your
book the same way you’d be ready anyone else’s book. And your mind is not
pressured. As you read minor errors that you might not have detected online
popup. So you take a pen or pencil, mark the error and the page prior to moving
on.
Later you go back, find the errors and
edit them. The result will be more errors removed. If you have the time you
might want to start at the beginning and reread the book, this time using a
different mark to indicate errors. You might read the book three times!
The idea is to remove as many errors
as is possible. Hopefully by the third time you’ll find very few errors or none
at all. It might not be as good as a professional, but it will produce a book
with less errors and have a more professional look and feel.
Why must I go through all that
trouble?
It’s really quite simple. You are the
writer and your mind knows what you meant. So every time you read your story
your mind is involved. It is comparing what you actually wrote and what it
knows you meant. And, unfortunately, it often superimposes what you meant to
say over what you just read. That results in you missing the error.
To fight this tendency, you have to be
very careful. A professional proofreader hasn’t read your book before and has
no previous idea of what you meant. So, it is easier for them to pick up on the
errors.
Because of that, you need to be
proactive and devise ways that fight this tendency and enable you to read,
proof, and edit without that subconscious battle. As an editor with TR Writing
Service I use the proof copy. I don’t have the subconscious battle going on
because I didn’t write the story. However, I may have assisted in the writing,
in which case the problem could reassert itself.
But whether I’ve written it or not I
learned the hard way that the printed copy is far more effective than the
online preview. The reason is obvious to me. When reviewing the copy online I
am tempted to skim over portions. I am ready to publish, and I get impatient.
But if I use a printed copy, I must be patent for it to arrive and then to sit down
and read it.
In addition, it gives me a better look
and feel of the whole book. I can see the cover and how it looks plus I can view
all the content! In that way, I get to see an overall view of the book and spot
things I wouldn’t have spotted online. It makes a big difference.
Remember, when doing anything by
yourself you MUST do more!
It is the cost of being independent
and on a budget.
For information on TR Writing Services contact us at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com.
We have a Free booklet telling you about our services. And we are upfront on
our prices (all are low).
VISIT MY AUTHOR’S PAGE TODAY: amazon.com/author/rfrederickriddle.
ARE YOU A BOOK REVIEWER? I am
always looking for book reviews. Whether it is Perished The World That Was
(Book One), World of Noah and the Ark (Book Two),World of Shem
(Book Three), World of Abraham (Book Four) or Death Ship (Book One), Pauline A New Home (Book Two), Task
Force Hunter (Book Three), Black Death (Book Four), or Rise of
I.C.E.S. (Book Five), I value your reviews.
If you would like to review any of these books contact me at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com with the subject line indicating that desire. An example of an
appropriate subject line would be: ‘Seek to review [book Title].’ In the email
make sure to indicate your email address, your name, and the choice of copy
(PDF or ePub).
– – – – – – –
R Frederick
Riddle is the Editor of TR Writing
Services providing help to struggling and/or new
authors to write and publish their books. In addition he is the author of
several books and is best known for Christian Historical and Speculative
Fiction. For more information on him or his books visit his Amazon Authors Page. He is also
co-founder and Vice President of T&R Independent Books where his books are featured. To reply to any blog you have the
option of commenting on a blog and/or sending an email to marketing@tr-indbkstore.com. You may also be interested in his Facebook page at RFrederickRiddlesWorld.
