Top 5 Things I’ve learned about self-publishing

Well, I’ve been self publishing for over a year now and I can tell you this, it’s not as easy as it looks. Here are the top 5 things I learned:

1: It takes dedication. As a self publisher it’s you that does the social media, the advertising, basically everything. You’re the one that’s got to make sure to post your tweet, update your Facebook, make a great blog post and first and foremost get your book everywhere.

2: Self Publishing takes patience. You don’t have that big publisher backing you or putting your work everywhere that as a self publisher you have to struggle to be. You have to remember that you’re starting out from scratch. It’s a waiting game to see if you’ve written the big one.

3: Self Publishing can be self satisfying. To know you did it yourself is an accomplishment to be proud of. When you sell the first book you can sit back and say “at least I sold one, that’s one more than if I’d left it in a drawer collecting dust.”

4: I’ve learned a lot about social media. Wow, I was definitely not a social media butterfly before all of this. In one year I’ve started a couple of blogs, a couple of Twitter pages, I’m on Facebook (Said I’d never do that), and everywhere else that will let this country girl post.

5: To me self publishing is a great way to start out as a writer. You can build a platform and get noticed. Maybe if you’re lucky a big publisher or agent will notice you tenacity and give you a shout. It’s always possible. Look at all the self publishers that have turned into best selling authors. If it’s your dream, then go for it. Try it out and make a name for yourself. Who knows you better than yourself?

As writers we’re always looking at this or that to improve ourselves. Well, let’s work together. I’ve started a monthly Newsletter that will feature a Author Interview and three different book showcase spaces. Also I’ll be adding writing comments and pointers from my friends in the writing world.If you want to subscribe to it, please email me at hurtsbusiness@att.net. Also, to be a featured author just message me that you’re interested. It’s free so what have you got to lose.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Lists & Writing

As a writer I’ve had to get better organized. Not that Accounting didn’t already have me organizing, but in writing it’s different.

Someone asked the other day where I advertise and where I sell my books and where all I blog. Funny thing is sometimes I get so caught up in the whirlwind of it that I have to sit and think. That’s where the lists come in.

Here are the lists I have to keep in order to keep up:

1: Books (Funny enough after about book 4 I lost count and had a hard time remembering names)

2: ISBN numbers – very important to keep up with when entering other book sites.

3: Advertising Sites

4: Social Media Sites

5: Where your book is currently listed

6: Most importantly the user ID’s and Passwords to all the above sites. This can get tricky.

7: Characters for each book. Yep I forget sometimes who went with what book. Sign of my mind growing old 😦

8: Blog sites

9: Books in process (Very important so that if I mention them on a blog I can identify them later.)

10: A list to keep up with the lists. Yep, I have a 4″ notebook with all this organized in it. Thank goodness my editor and partner in crime keeps this book up to date. My way is sticky notes in a box.

As for you, this may not help. You may add more lists that you need, but this is just the ones I keep up with. May sound like a lot, but it keeps you from going crazy, well for me crazier.

As always, good writing and May God Bless you…

It’s Spring, here comes the weather…

Well, living in the South you kind of get used to the crazy weather. We had possible tornado’s around our area yesterday evening. Got to spend some time at my brother’s house as he has a storm area in his basement. Thank goodness he lives next door. Luckily we didn’t have any damage, but several in our County did have damage. It was bad enough that school was canceled for today which made my son extremely happy.

Here is 5 things I love about Spring and 5 I don’t

1: I love the budding of the trees and the rebirth of everything.

2: I love the flowers and planting my flower beds.

3: The feeling in the air is so serene and it inspires me to write which is a good thing.

4: I love to watch a Spring rain with the sun dancing through as rainbows appear in the sky.

5: I love the nice temps as it can get pretty warm here as Summer approaches.

Now what I don’t like

6: Tornado’s which seem to plague us here in the Spring.

7: Pollen oh I don’t like the pollen.

8: Bees and snakes start coming back out. Not a big fan.

9: Spring brings on the end of tax season and my busiest time in the office.

10: It means that we didn’t get any snow and have to wait until next year. I love the snow and it’s always a waiting game to see if we’re going to be graced with it’s pristine beauty.

I have to admit that my two favorite times of the year are Spring and Fall when the air is just warm enough to lose the coat but still cool enough where you enjoy the fresh air. Especially no air pollution until the warmer weather hit.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You!

What’s in a name?

Good Monday morning to all my friends. It was a wonderful weekend here in the deep south. We had wonderful, sunny weather. I’d planned on doing a lot of writing, but only got in a couple of chapters. Guess that’s better than nothing.

As I was doing my normal morning tour of my book sites, I started thinking of book names and how hard it is to actually name your work. So here are five things to think of when trying to name your work…

1. The name has to be somewhat close to what your book is about. You can’t name your book “The book of numbers” and the book be totally about letters. The name needs to at least bring about the book theme. Nothing is more disappointing than to pick up a book with an interesting name and find out the book has nothing to do with the name.

2. You have to add interest. Most people look at the title and pick the book based on the title. A lot of people don’t even read the description if the title is eye catching.

3. Be creative. Don’t just go with the first thing that pops in your head. Look up different ways to word what you want to say. Get out the dictionary and look up different words that mean the same thing.

4. Do you want the name to be just one word or several words? One word titles have to pack a huge punch because that one word has to draw in potential readers.

5. This is what I normally do. Google the name you come up with. If several books have the same name then you probably want to make a few changes. When someone googles your book name you want them to find you, not everybody else too.

Hope this helps in some way. Have a great Monday!

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…