Worst Part of Self Publishing

I’ve talked about the best parts of self publishing, the ins and outs, the how to’s, but I hardly ever talk about the bad side. With everything there is always some part that just plain out drives you crazy.

I’ve learned a lot of hard lessons about writing since I self published my first book. One of the worst parts to me is editing. That’s just not a fun process and sometimes I almost dread typing ‘The End’ because I know that’s the next part of the process.

I have a great assistant that helps me with this process, but I still am a hands on type of person. Also she’s leaving for college out of town, so… Also, I’m my worst critic. I’ll go over a part and tell her let’s change this. Usually she’ll tell me I’m crazy and take the file away from me.

Another thing about self publishing that’s hard is self promotion. Which according to some of my author friends that’s even part of the process when you have a big publisher. So, I guess that could go on the bad side of publishing period!

I could probably list other bad aspects, but I really enjoy publishing my work myself. That way I know what’s changed and what’s not. So many authors say a publisher can tear your hard work apart and it doesn’t even sound like your work to begin with. That would be heartbreaking. Although sometimes I agree that some work does need to be torn apart. I’ve read some books lately that should have been torn up and started over. Did I say that? At least I didn’t say what they were.

So if you’re thinking about self publishing then go for it. Some of the biggest authors right now started out that way. It’s rewarding even through the sweat and tears. If you’re not up to the editing or cover design, then check out my publishing service that I started. The link is http://www.horseshoepublishing.wordpress.com.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

How do you take rejection?

Hmmmm! Let me see about this. Well, I usually take it fairly well according to the situation. As an author you’ve got to learn that a little rejection is coming your way one day. It’s sad but true.

When I started publishing my work, I was afraid of rejection from family and friends. I was more afraid of what they’d think than the world. For a long time most of my family and friends were not aware I’d published any books. One day my mom showed my aunt one of my paperbacks and she had a fit. Now she’s a fan.

If you pitch your work to a large publisher, well, you guessed it, you get get one of those nice little form letters that explains why they can’t publish your work. Some of the better publishers give you advice on what would make it better and would possibly change their mind. I pitched one of mine to a big publisher and well, I never got anything. Not sure, but I’d call that a rejection. I prefer to think maybe they didn’t get it, but a rejection all the same.

You can feel the sting of rejection through self publishing too. This is usually through reviews. Sometimes they hurt, but you just have to remember, it’s not personal. Well, sometimes it feels like it.

Life is feel with rejections, that’s what makes us stronger, I think. You have rejections in your love life, friendships, jobs, promotions, loans, and many areas of your life. The main thing is how you handle that rejection. Do you just dig a hole and put your head in or do you walk proudly and get over it? I try to choose the latter as much as possible, but I have to admit to having dirt in my hair more than once 🙂

So how do you handle it?

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Casted – By: Sonya Loveday Officially released July 31st

Tomorrow is an exciting day for author Sonya Loveday and for us as readers. Her new book “Casted” will be released. Check out this synopsis and go over to check it out tomorrow.

Jade had spent the majority of her life running from the Triad. The Triad, are a powerful group, who would stop at nothing to obtain Jade and the missing spell book for leader, Lorenzo’s, nefarious plans. And now that she has absorbed the highly coveted magic contained inside the missing book, there is nowhere left for her to hide.

With the help of her friends, Jade steps out from the shadows and learns how to fight back. But no one is prepared for Elinor-the woman bound inside of the book that’s trapped in Jade’s mind. Now she not only needs to protect herself from the Triad, but from what’s hiding inside her mind as well.

Jade never expected the answer to it all would revolve around love.

Edge is dark, mysterious, and a sworn member of the Triad. He also hides a secret past that threatens the thin line he walks between good and evil. Lives are at stake when Jade and Edge’s two worlds collide. Can Jade learn to trust him when he says he is her pre-ordained and vows to do everything he can to protect her? But more importantly, can she trust herself and the woman in her mind?

Find out more about this talented author:

About the Author

Sonya Loveday, first and foremost is a reader, an avid one. It is of that love that brought her to the realization that this was the answer to the nagging persistent feeling that ‘there’s got to be something more’.

The dream came alive in 2009 when she purchased her laptop and began the tedious step of becoming a published author.

When she’s not reading, she’s writing. When she’s not writing, she’s reading. And when she’s not doing either of those things she’s sleeping, shuttling her children back and forth to school, letting the dogs and cats in and out of the house for the umpteenth time in the last hour and dreaming of a clean house.

You can find Sonya Loveday on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads and WordPress on the links below:

http://www.facebook.com/sonyalovedayauthor?ref=hl

http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/11660396-sonya-loveday

https://twitter.com/SonyaLoveday – @SonyaLoveday

www.sonyaloveday@wordpress.com

So go over and check out her and Casted.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

one week til school…Summers OVER

It’s been a crazy summer. My son is practicing football three days a week (yep, all summer). I’ve been writing every free minute I have. My assistant found out she was accepted to University of Georgia. As I said, it’s been a crazy summer.

Oh and I found out I’m not getting any younger. I’m walking 4 1/2 miles three to four days a week to keep healthy, trying to eat better and totally refusing to be over stressed. Of course hormones changing and just life are trying their best to take over, but I’m fighting both with a positive attitude and lot’s of prayer.

It’s hard to believe summer is almost over. I know that technically we still have a month or so left of the season, but when school starts back it’s like summer is over. My son starts high school this year, so he’s getting excited and nervous at the same time.

As for my writing, I have two books hopefully coming out in August. Victoria is the first book in my new Historical Romance Saga “Women of Magnolia Hill” and the 2nd book in the “Lean On Him” Christian romance series “Faith Through the Tears”. Victoria is going to be a longer novel and Faith Through the Tears will be a novella. Both covers are completely done and ready for the books to be completed.

Hope everyone enjoys today. It’s Monday, but be glad you’re alive and hopefully well.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

What does a romance novel do for you?

This post is for all of you, me included, that lose yourself in a romance novel often or as often as you can. Have you ever wondered why it’s one of the largest genres? Well here is my take on this.

A romance novel can take the reader to another place. Maybe it’s another country, some exotic destination or just to another time in history. You may be saying, well so can science fiction, non fiction or any of the other genres out there. For some reason a romance novel just inspires you to want more.

Maybe the reader just needs to lose themselves in someone else’s world for a while. It’s a way to escape and what better way than to lose yourself in a romance novel. Most romance novels end with a happy ending and you’re pretty sure to have a better outlook when you finish.

Most romance novels just leave you wanting to read another one. Maybe you like the sexy characters that are described in the stories that unfold. Maybe it’s the feelings that a good romance brings about in you.

For me a good romance inspires me. I’ve been reading romance novels since I was a young teenager. There’s something about following someone else’s relationship and not having to worry whether you’ve said the right thing or done the right thing. You just leave it up to the character.

If it’s a good descriptive romance, you may even feel like you’re part of the story. Sometimes I’m reading and I get so immersed in the story that I forget everything around me. That’s what I try to achieve in the romance that I write. I want my readers to get lost in the story. I want it to make them feel better about themselves or at least feel better than they did when they started.

As I always say, this is just my thoughts on the subject. What are yours?

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Handwritten or Typed, what’s your preference?

As long as I can remember I’ve been writing down my thoughts. Sometimes in journal form or just in story form. I’ll see something or someone and it’ll inspire a verse or maybe two, sometimes even a whole novel. But it’s where and when which determines the preference of my writing tools.

When I was younger we didn’t have a computer, obviously, let’s not go there. I’d get composition books and fill them with my thoughts and stories. The funny thing is I still have those notebooks. Some of the books I’ve written came from those pages. Of course I’ve changed them around to fit the times, but they’re still the basics that I wrote so long ago.

As I read over what I hand wrote all those years ago, I laugh at my innocence. I can tell when things were changing in my mind and when I started to think differently. I love reading over some of them. I’ll have to put some of them in my blog sometime.

Today I prefer my laptop as it keeps down the hand cramps and it’s quicker at times. I do keep a small pad with me for when I’m away from my laptop I can still catch the moment. I’ve even been know to take a notebook to the bubble bath to write. Those pages are usually smeared and crinkly from the humidity, but readable.

So what’s your preference?

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…