And now for the news!
This week in the world of self-publishing:
Ben Arzate provides a unique perspective as a self-publishing poet. Arzate felt that rejection from publishing companies was inevitable after his first, “Sorry, but no,” afterwhich he made the conscious decision that he would prefer to pour his time directly into crafting his book, rather than soliciting companies who (he thought) had no interest.
What I most enjoyed about reading Arzate’s first-person account of his experience with self-publishing what that it reminded me of the naivete a lot of us are forced to come to terms with when it comes to actually putting a book together. I found myself laughing at the idea of Arzate formatting his book according to Microsoft Word, which is based on an 8 ½ x 11 inch page, not because it was ridiculous, but because most of us are so enormously and entertainingly ignorant about the intricacies of formatting a book before we’ve had a hand at it ourselves. Arzate’s piece provides an informative, amusing and honest look at a first go in the self-publishing world.
Hank Quense has been an author for over 20 years, and a successful self-publishing author at that. The simple errors that can be made on someone’s first go at self-publishing (see previously reviewed article) are the subject of Quense’s ebook, “The Complete Self-Publishing Guide.” Quense says, “My books are dedicated to providing clear, concise information and procedures on the publishing process,” which is great for those of you new to self-publishing who are feeling overwhelmed by all of the pieces to the publishing puzzle.
It is easy to be overwhelmed by the prospect of self-publishing, Quense admits that it’s hard work that people often want to find some easier way around, but he insists that there is no easy way out and that good results come from hard work. Quense bemoans the authors who simply upload their manuscripts to Kindle or Amazon without proofing or providing cover art, and he insists that your sales will suffer from that sort of indolence. Putting in the time and money to publish something that you can be proud of will result in better sales, according to Quense. While an editor and an artist cost a fair amount of money, they are a necessary investments, according to Quense. In this vein, Quense compares books to companies; with that comparison in mind, the talk of investments, marketing strategies and customer base become more relevant.
Jonathan Kile taps into the unspoken issue of what he calls “editor’s block.” As far as he’s concerned, there is no writer’s block, this is merely an excuse people use to procrastinate writing. Writing, as far as Kile is concerned, is the easy part–just get words on the page, or more likely, on the computer screen.
Kile makes a candid political reference to pre-edited writing saying, “while the initial draft can be a Trumpian stream of consciousness making little to no sense, editing requires the quality of the prose and the ideas contained within to be compelling and tell a great story.” Providing some great advice for getting over “editor’s block,” Kile says that we should look at our work as if it isn’t our own. Obviously this is a pretty difficult mindset to enter; you wrote the damn manuscript and assuming you haven’t suffered from amnesia, then you presumably know it all too well. However, Kile wants to implore that you try to get into the shoes of your readers. Will they wish you had developed a certain character more? Will they have longed for a different ending? These questions, among others posed by Kile, are the types of questions you need to ask yourself when editing.
As a self-publishing author, you may find it helpful to stay up-to-date on the trends and news related to the self-publishing industry. This will help you make informed decisions before, during and after the self-publishing process, which will lead to a greater self-publishing experience. To help you stay current on self-publishing topics, simply visit our blog every Monday to find out the hottest news. If you have other big news to share, please comment below.
Self Publishing Advisor 