Guest Post from Tricia Lorntson: How to NOT Skyrocket from Nobody to Somebody as an Indie Author

May 10, 2013 by 2 Comments
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My name is Tricia Lorntson and I’m an egoholic. Crowd: Hi, Tricia! This is a public service announcement and a cautionary tale for struggling writers everywhere. Your odds of becoming instafamous are only marginally higher than your chances of winning the PowerBall. You? Are not special. Don’t believe your mother—she has to tell you that. Let me give it to you straight, and in third person for dramatic effect:   Once upon a time in 2011, a girl named Tricia was writing a book and had what she believed to be enough of a budget to release this book into the wild where it would surely draw international fame and fortune. She met with the owner of a local collaborative… [read more]

Filed Under: Authorpreneur, Blogging, eBooks, Editing, Guest Post, Indie Publishing, Self-publishing, Writing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

How to Create a Useful Style Sheet

December 31, 2012 by 1 Comment
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Many authors assume they don’t need to be conscious of style choices because it is understood that the editor will fix style choices. Other authors use the excuse of “just getting the words on the page” to get out of using a consistent style as they write. Using a consistent style (and being conscious enough to make consistent style choices) will force you to think about your audience; for example: Hmmm . . . I am writing a military story for the general public . . . should I use all military acronyms throughout, or should I remind my audience of what they stand for at the beginning of each new chapter? Using a consistent style will also make you… [read more]

Filed Under: Editing, Revising, Style Sheet, Writing Tagged With: , , , , ,

Guest Post: CONTEST: Write with Hanna, Editorial Feedback #2

October 31, 2012 by Leave a Comment
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Congratulations to submission #6! Synopsis: Sam is four years old when he first feels it—a humming in his stomach that happens when he reads books. As he grows older, the grumblings occur more frequently, and he finally confides in his mother when he is six. Smiling, she hands him a cookbook, and tells Sam to ask the book a question—and to Sam’s surprise, he can feel the book’s reply humming in his stomach. With the help of his mother, Sam learns he inherited her ability to communicate with books. When Sam is nine, his mother mysteriously disappears. Three and a half years later, Sam’s father has exiled himself to the bedroom, leaving Sam to take care of the house.  But… [read more]

Filed Under: Contests, Editing, Guest Post, Revising, Writing, Writing Tips Tagged With: , , , , , ,

The Best First Eyes: A Critical Choice [Guest Post]

October 26, 2012 by 1 Comment
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This is a guest post by Julia Tagliere who writes for Justscribbling.com.  Months of anticipation. Terrible mood swings. Bladder discomfort, weight gain, hours of intense labor pains, all leading up to the arrival of…A baby? Who’s talking about babies? I’m talking about your book! It’s true, finishing a manuscript feels almost like giving birth (only you can have an epidural for babies—they don’t give those to writers). Like any other proud parent, you know with absolute certainty that your magnum opus is flawless, which makes exposing your work to others for critique a very humbling business, indeed. But for all authors, and particularly for those planning to self-publish, obtaining thoughtful, honest, and effective reviews from skilled readers prior to querying or publication… [read more]

Filed Under: Editing, Guest Post, Writing Tips Tagged With: , ,

At First Draft: The 6 (Minimum) Steps to Revising Your Manuscript before Submission

October 17, 2012 by 17 Comments
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Congratulations on your first draft! Ready for the real work? Here’s your in-the-trenches Wednesday post! As I’ve said before, writing tens of thousands of words is not hard. Sorry, it’s just not. And like the last time I said that, the muffled sound you just heard was a herd of angry authors setting their laptops down to come pummel me to the ground. But it’s true: the ACT itself of writing is not difficult to do. What IS hard is having the time and discipline to write. Harder yet? Having the skill to do it well. And the hardest? Being able to distance yourself enough from your manuscript to truly face what sucks about it—being open to changing even your most beloved sections… [read more]

Filed Under: Beta Readers, Editing, Planning, Revising, Writing, Writing Tips Tagged With: , , , , ,

Guest Post: CONTEST: Write with Hanna, Editorial Feedback #1

October 15, 2012 by Leave a Comment
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Hanna here! Well, here we are! I truly enjoyed reading the submissions, and it was difficult to pick just one. I believe that authors are the movers and shakers of the world, and it is so inspirational to be a part of such a talented community. To ensure the author’s anonymity, I have used only the first initial of the character’s names. Congratulations Submission #8! Synopsis: This manuscript opens in Pompeii, J— stumbling over the crouched body of S—, a woman he hasn’t seen for ten years, and whom he has loved since he was a boy. She was bending down, caressing the ruts of the ancient road, tracing the grooves of history in the “city-sized graveyard.” Years later, they… [read more]

Filed Under: Content, Contests, Editing, Guest Post, Revising, Storytelling, Writing, Writing Tips Tagged With: , , , , ,

Call for Entries! Free Editorial Feedback Contest!

October 1, 2012 by 2 Comments
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Do you have a manuscript? Do you need professional feedback? There are so many fabulous book blogs out there that are great for helping published authors get the word out. However, what if you’ve got a finished manuscript and need some solid advice about it before you move forward with querying agents or self publishing? We’re here to help! Our amazing and talented acquisitions editor friend, Hanna, has offered to give FREE feedback (in blog form) to one author, and we’ll be posting her review on our site! The good news? It’s free feedback! The other good news? It’s totally confidential at this stage–Hanna will give each submission a number (which will be shared with you, author), so you can… [read more]

Filed Under: Editing, Reviews, Revising, Self-publishing, Writing, Writing Tips Tagged With: , , , ,

The 3 Top Reasons Readers Hate Good Books

September 26, 2012 by 1 Comment
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I was recently trying to get through a memoir. The writing was fine. The topic was interesting, but I wasn’t engaged as I thought I would be. All the signs were there that I would love this book. But it wasn’t working out. I quickly moved on to something else and haven’t thought about that book since. Not until this post anyway… It got me thinking: Why didn’t I like that book? Here’s why: I felt lost. The language, tone, style — all of it didn’t enhance my reading experience. A good book cradles my imagination or for nonfiction, thoughtfully leads me down a path I’m excited to explore. This book just couldn’t get me there. Here are the top… [read more]

Filed Under: Audience, Editing, Revising, Writing Tips Tagged With: , ,

Interview with Indie Author Matthew J. Beier, “The Breeders”

August 31, 2012 by 2 Comments
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With self-publishing, you either pay for quality control, or you do it yourself. This week, Matthew J. Beier, indie author of The Breeders, joined me for some Earl Grey tea and some conversation. Beier has several other books in the works, including a seven-book series that begins with The Confessions of Jonathan Flite, coming  fall of 2013. His July 9, 2012 article in Publishers Weekly titled “Of Decisions and Dream Chasing” explores his decision to self-publish, even though he was getting enough attention from agents to trust that a deal was likely to come through at some point. As it turns out, the self-publishing route allowed The Breeders—which subtly and not-so-subtly deals with many high-profile social justice issues—to come out right at the perfect… [read more]

Filed Under: Agents, Audience, Editing, Indie Publishing, Literary Trends, Pub. Industry, Publishers Weekly, Quotes, Self-publishing, Traditional Publishing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

The Two BIGGEST Mistakes Publishers Make that Screw Over Authors

August 3, 2012 by 2 Comments
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The truth about publishing is this: THE AUTHOR WILL PAY FOR IT…NO MATTER WHAT. If you self-publish, you pay up front  to have control in your process. If you publish traditionally, you pay for it through the royalties on the sales of your book. There’s no way around this investment. And sadly, publishers on both sides of the publishing world make mistakes that waste this huge investment by the author. As you all know, Dara and I (Amy) work for a self publisher in Minneapolis, Minnesota. We work with 70+ authors per year, and our job is to help them avoid making mistakes in the publishing process. Unfortunately, we sometimes get authors who have already published the wrong way–and NOT… [read more]

Filed Under: Design, Editing, Indie Publishing, Pub. Industry, Royalty Publishing, Self-publishing, Traditional Publishing Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,
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