NaNoWriMo = NotSoPubRedNo

As I sit here, thinking about NaNoWriMo – I started freaking out.  There was a reported a surge in self-published ebooks that had no business being on the market in December of last year (unsubstantiated, I did no science).  I can only attribute this to NaNoWriMo participants who were naive enough to believe they had a publish-ready novel after a month long 2000+ words/day writing binge (for the sake of this article, we will refer to them as NotSoPubRedNo's).

This scared me as a self-publisher of ebooks.  Would anything I put out in the few months after NaNoWriMo be automatically labeled a NotSoPubRedNo?  Probably.  If I were a book review blogger I might just be inclined to reject all submissions at least until February.  That is probably why I am not a book blogger.

To combat the NotSoPubRedNo plague, I will take two approaches. 

1 - Get out all my review requests for completed works by the end of November.  So yes, I am back to stalking reviewers.  I found a creepy, new method too.  For those that are closed to reviews or those who haven't responded to a request – find them on Goodreads, friend them, suggest your book.

2 -  Start a campaign within the NaNoWriMo community to just say no to NotSoPubRedNo's or in other words...NoNotSoPubRedNo (ok – I am probably getting a bit ridiculous here, I blame the rum).

This campaign will consist of tweeting, facebooking, google +ing, blogging, talking, Morse coding, smoke-signaling (again with the rum) all the steps writers must take after NaNoWriMo to produce a PubRedNo.  See what I did there?  Hashtag it.  Tweet it. 

Step 1:

Finish it.  50,000 words does not a novel make.

Step 2:

Edit it.  Substantively, professionally.

Step 3:

Edit it again.  Grammar, punctuation.

Step 4:

Critique it.  Join a group; get feedback.

Step 5:

Edit it again.

Step 6:

Cover art.  Hire those Mormons - see my post on why.

Step 7:

Format it.

Step 8: 

Publish then market that bee-atch!  Bee-yatch.  Beetch.  None of those look right.  I'll have to google it.

So there you have it.  Eight steps.  Boom!

Formatting, Shmormatting

Q: You mean we have to format things, and stuff? 

A: Yes.

Q: But, I'm a creative-type.  I just barely learned how to market my book.  Is it really necessary?

A: Yes.

Q: *Whine* How do I do it?

A: Carefully.

Q: Seriously, it can't be that important.  Can it?

A: Yes.

This is the last thing authors want to do with their manuscript; removing the tabs, creating a Table of Contents, ensuring images are inserted properly, blah, blah, blah.  But not doing it could very well be the demise of all your marketing efforts.  Even if you are self-published...scratch that...especially if you are self-published, your book needs to appear, like, hella-proffesional.  Otherwise readers and reviewers won't give you the time of day.

You know who else didn't format properly?  Hitler.  And look what happened to him.  Listen, I'll make it easy on you – go to the 'resources' section listed on the right hand side of the page, and open the 'Basic E-Book Formatting Guide'.  Follow this guide to format your novel first; then use the additional guides to format specifically for Smashwords, Kindle, and Nook.  If you have a go at it by yourself, use Mark Coker's Smashwords Guide – it is very user friendly and very detailed.  Kindle is understandable, but not as detailed.  Barnes & Noble PubIt! formatting guide for Nook is just plain confusing as hell.  Don't attempt to use it; unless you are the geeky type or like a challenge.

Formatting a full length novel should only take a few hours.  There are plenty of help forums out there if you have questions.  If you intend to self-publish more books in the future, I suggest you learn how to do this now instead of hiring help.

A quick 'Google' search led me to these helpful resources:

http://howtowriteshop.loridevoti.com/2010/11/how-to-format-ebook-word/

http://workingwritersandbloggers.com/2010/10/07/how-to-format-a-manuscript-for-an-ebook/

Hella-proffesional, shmormatting, and...GO!

Future Fans?

Blogging again for several reasons:

1 – I am addicted to my laptop.

2 – Testing new Amazon Author Central Page to see if my blogs post.

3 – Alerting followers to my twitter account: harmonygirlit.  I still only have one follower (me) despite the fact that I even told my mom about the blog.  Geez mom – sign up already!  Maybe twitter will be a different story – I do have one follower on Twitter, stephenkruiser, but he is following 139,051 other people so I can’t be that special. 

 

3 – Finished uploading to Smashwords and want to make a few comments about that while they are fresh in my head.  I’ve seen comments that you should format according to the Smashwords format guide first.  This is probably a good idea as it is the most thorough I’ve seen out there and very user friendly.  However, if you are going to publish through Amazon (Kindle) and B&N (Nook), there will be subtle differences in the formatting.  One thing mentioned on the Smashwords guide that I’d wish I’d done elsewhere (and still technically can, I guess), is include an author bio, website and picture at the end of the text.  Duh!  The reader just got done reading your amazing piece of work and wants to learn more about you and/or see your other works – this is a good way to do it.

Smashwords will publish to Kindle and Nook but I opted out of the .mobi format (which will prevent Smashwords from putting my work up on Kindle).  I did this because I’ve heard having your book up by two different mediums on Amazon may split your sales reports – not a huge deal but it is always best to simplify – and purchases on Amazon through Smashwords equals less payout for me rather than purchases directly through Amazon.  Please, someone correct me if I am wrong.

4 – A few important steps in the publishing process I failed to mention.  First, get an editor.  Wait – first, write a good book THEN get an editor.  Your spouse, best friend, coworker and child don’t count.  They probably like you too much to be honest, or they have no idea how to edit.  Besides, most of them (as I have found out) won’t even finish the book.  Don’t pay out the a$$ for an editor.  Put an ad on Craigslist describing the job.  You’ll get a hundred e-mails (make sure to take ad down after you get overwhelmed), pick 10 you liked and have them edit a sample chapter.  Choose from there.  I paid $150 for my 80,000 word novel.  It was one of the better deals but also one of the better editors.  I lucked out.  Hint – your editor can also help with your query letter, bio, book blurb, synopsis, etc.  2^nd, or I think we are on 3^rd – pay a graphic artist to do a cover.  I asked my editor for some referrals, but you could again do Craigslist.  You should only pay between $40 and $100 for this service.  Make sure you and the artist sign a release so you are legally able to use the cover art in advertising, for print, etc.  Send them format guidelines (i.e. dpi, pixels, etc.) so they know what to do, make sure they are willing to work with you until you are happy, and ensure they are willing to send revisions in regards to format even after the job is over.  Finally, ALWAYS acknowledge your editor, cover artist, and anyone who contributed professionally to your piece of work.  I did it on my copyright page.

5 – SALES UPDATE – I have 4 sales on Amazon and 2 at Barnes & Noble.  About half are family I can account for.  The other half – I don’t know.  Future fans, perhaps?  I am so excited!

OMG this is the longest blog I’ve EVER seen (I haven’t seen many).  Certainly the longest I’ve written…