Guest Post: Self-Publishing with Jasime Roy

The Highs and Lows of Self-Publishing

Challenges of Publishing: My Journey
Jasmine Roy

Becoming a book author isn’t a simple job. Though the entry barrier has been lowered in the past few years, sustaining yourself through the bumps isn’t so easy. Making contacts with various parties in the book industry and then proposing your manuscript to the publisher through a book agent. And then waiting for their approval and more likely getting rejections is all so disappointing. After you face a couple of rejections, you are soon on the track of negative self-talk, quick to label yourself as a loser before another publisher really starts to like your work.

This phenomenon is fairly common and has driven many book authors to walk the self-publishing pathway. And there’s nothing wrong with that. This is an age when relying on someone else to carry out your job is likely to land you in trouble and give your nothing but failures and disappointments; a DIY job is highly preferred even in the publishing industry. For new book authors, self-publishing is definitely a route worth taking.

I took up self-publishing when it became too much for me to handle the constant rejections and delays by various publishers. Some sane person who’s been here for quite some time gave me a wise piece of advice of going for self-publishing.  Looking at my initial record of publisher rejections, I felt his advice was well-meaning and a well-intended one.  

My Self-publishing Experience

I love my work, and I know deep inside that I possess the drive and passion to make my dreams come true. However, to make them come true and in the quickest way possible, I needed to make amends in the way that I do my work, not just writing but publishing too.

Since my first successful experience at self-publishing was for a short romantic novel which revolved around a couple who weren’t sure about the feelings they shared for each other but later ended up being together. I thought making an interesting eBook out of this with a touching cover page and a title that captivates and moves the hearts of all that believe in true love.

I hired a self-publisher and instructed them about the design and title text that I wanted to incorporate into the e-copy. I ensured that there was an intrigue factor in the book; nobody likes to read a book that has a tell-all synopsis.  This had happened with me for one of my comic books when my extracts summarized all that was in the book. No doubt that the EBook never found any readers.

For the romantic novel, I registered with all possible free eBook websites and made sure the copies of my eBook were available for downloading from there. I wrote the book extract in such a way that it appealed to the modern youth. When you are publishing a romantic novel, keep in mind the target audience. If the eBook cover page and layout represents the age when your grandpa met grandma, you are cooking up a recipe for disaster.

In the first month itself, my EBook picked up sales through Amazon.com. That was the moment of utmost happiness for me. After enjoying the first few readers for my eBook, I made it a paid version in the third month. And it surprised me to see that people were willing to buy the paid version of my eBook too. Remember to cash in on the success as it may not last. If you wait too long before converting the free version into a paid one, the readers will circulate the free eBook to their friends who will no longer need the paid version. I had committed this mistake while publishing my comic eBook.

Self publishing a book may seem interesting, but you have to be well-versed with a lot of things and be good at handling them all at once. It did not take me much time to find a self-publisher from the highly informative online databases to help me with the implementation part. But, the planning part was all mine; they grant you the freedom to choose whatever design and layout you want for your book. And yes, for a romantic novel, don’t forget to use that oomph factor for publishing!

Author Bio: Jasmine Roy has extensive experience in writing on a range of topic. These portals not only support publishers, new authors, freelance illustrators but they also provide valuable information and services to publishing agents and agencies.
Please visit the author's site:  http://pubmatchblog.wordpress.com/

Guest Post: Traditional Publishing, Self-Publishing and Alternative Publishing Tips

Traditional Publishing, Self-Publishing and Alternative Publishing Tips

Saturday, February 02, 2013

Janette Grant, Author

Article:

Looking outside of the box: publishing in the 21^st century

Traditionally, the printing and distribution of books has been an exclusive enterprise reserved for those individuals who are either affiliated with or financially supported by large publishing houses, but the prominence of the World Wide Web and the ability to read materials upon portable electronic devices is revolutionizing the publishing industry. Writers and aspiring authors have access to a wealth of opportunities that were not available to them ten to fifteen years ago and the divide between publishers and writers is gradually shrinking. These changes require looking outside of the box when considering publishing prospects and can be divided into three major categories:  traditional publishing, self-publishing and alternative publishing.

Authors who previously may not have had access to a literary agent or an inside line to the editor of a mainstream publishing company can now take advantage of the numerous alternatives available. Writers have easier access to mainstream publishers through websites, better access to literary agents through online resources and social networking groups, and then there are the various smaller publishers, blogs and private websites that allow writers to publish their work immediately online.

For aspiring writers interested in breaking into the mainstream world of publishing, the traditional route may be the best fit. Although traditional publishing can be very time consuming and is hit or miss at best, especially for new authors who have not been published and who do not have an agent behind them when submitting a manuscript, large publishers have access to the most resources for marketing and distributing written works and will often secure writers through writing contracts that stipulate profits and future projects. It can take anywhere from 3 to 6 months to hear back from a publisher after an initial submission so a substantial time investment is necessary when considering this course. In addition, not all publishers accept un-solicited manuscripts and in those instances the writer must submit his or her work after securing a literary agent.

On the other hand, self-publishing can be a much faster process and can provide an author with more say in the creative and production process.  A writer can publish their work independently through companies that provide fee based printing packages where a minimum number of books are required to be purchased or there are companies that will assist writers in the process of self-publishing for a consultative fee and provide support with marketing and distribution. There are still other companies that do not require any fees or initial purchases but where an author can upload his or her finished manuscript and receive assistance in designing a book cover.

Alternative publishing opportunities consist of providers that allow writers to post, publish and upload their work for free. Some of these sources pay their contributors for their work and these platforms allow aspiring writers to develop their craft while reaching a live audience full of potential readers. There is a small concern surrounding the issue of security and the possibility of another writer or publisher developing similar books or writing to those published, but most of these private companies provide terms of agreement and implement every manner of precaution available to them.

In summary, there is a wide array of opportunities for aspiring writers seeking to have their works published. Traditional publishing houses are trying to meet the demands of a growing technology-savvy readership that turn more quickly towards an iPad or smartphone when reading and as a result may be less likely to accept manuscripts from new writers for hard print, but such companies, Harper Collins for example, have developed resources where aspiring writers can explore the possibility of producing an e-book which can be used as a stepping stone into the industry. Publishers like Author Solutions, CreateSpace and Lulu are worth looking into for self-publishing opportunities and can make the process easy with minimal investment while alternative publishing platforms like Wattpad and Goodreads have more of a social networking component where authors can write and receive hands-on feedback from readers who can read their writing online; these types of enterprises are especially useful for new writers because readers can comment on the work, share the work with others and provide response directly to the author in real time. Interactive platforms allow authors to directly reach their readers while simultaneously building a strong fan base.

For more information, some useful links about traditional publishing, self-publishing and alternative publishing are provide below.

Links:

Self-publishing

http://www.lulu.com/us/en

https://www.createspace.com/pub/l/google_sales.do?ref=1159293&utm_id=6030

http://www.authorsolutions.com/USAPenguin.aspx?CMP=LEC-AS

http://www.us.penguingroup.com/static/pages/publishers/index.html

http://www.wattpad.com/

www.goodreads.com

http://authonomy.com/writing-community/

Unsolicited manuscript submissions:

http://www.pegasusbooks.net/submissions/

http://www.routledge.com/info/authors/

http://www.oup.com/us/corporate/proposalsubmissionpolicy/guidelines/

http://wintergoosepublishing.com/submissions/

http://www.coombsmoylett.com/submission-guidelines

http://www.phoenixyardbooks.com/submissions.php

http://www.ncmpublishing.com/submissions.html

http://sbpra.com/

Solicited Manuscripts:

http://www.randomhouse.biz/manuscripts/

http://www.us.penguingroup.com/static/pages/publishers/index.html

http://www.simonandschuster.com/help/publishing#manuscripts

http://www.harpercollins.com/footer/help.aspx#Manuscripts

http://www.hayhouse.com/guides.php

Literary Agents:

http://www.writersdigest.com/

http://www.writersmarket.com/cms/open/agent

http://www.literarymarketplace.com/lmp/us/index_us.asp

Author Janette Grant

• Houston Islam Examiner

Isahah Janette Grant currently resides in Missouri City, TX and is the author of the children's book, Sameerah's Hijab and the First Day of School. She is a founding member of Muslimah Writers Alliance (MWA), an internationally based collaboration of Muslim women writers and advocates working to counter negative and inaccurate perceptions of members of the Muslim community. Her published works include poetry that has been published in three anthology collections and articles that have been published in the Providence Journal Bulletin newspaper. She currently owns and runs Mindworks Publishing, a community based desktop publishing business, and is working on completing her first work of fiction. She studied at Boston University in Massachusetts majoring in Print Journalism and writes poetry in her free time.