This writing thing is a tumultuous and unstable business. I had four novels published traditionally and was working on my fifth. Out of the blue, my publisher informed me she was going out of business as of 30 September. My novels have been "unpublished" and have reverted back to me. I thought I had...
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John, I started out with hybrid publishing, and am now self-publishing, which I found was best, as I was doing almost all the work myself anyway. Draft2Digital is the easiest for converting your pdf i...
Expand commentJohn, I started out with hybrid publishing, and am now self-publishing, which I found was best, as I was doing almost all the work myself anyway. Draft2Digital is the easiest for converting your pdf into book form and also for distributing your work to markets: https://www.draft2digital.com/ . As far as editing, I edit my work myself, as I have extremely strong editing skills, however, I always want other eyes to look at the work, so I hire readers to review and comment on the work: https://www.fiverr.com/ (there are other sites as well) . Marketing has been the hardest part, though sometimes I hire folks to assist with marketing. Canva: https://www.canva.com/ is my favorite. They have everything for free or nomial monthly amount. And don't forget to obtain ISBNs and copyrights for your work. Yes, it all does cost, however, I think us creatives know it is worth it to get our work to the public. Once you self publish one work, the next will be easier. https://www.ravenelldynasty.net/
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John: It's true that more people make money off writers than off writing. But I"m 85, and I do all my editing for novella-size works, and under. I farm out the heavy lifting for novels to an editor at...
Expand commentJohn: It's true that more people make money off writers than off writing. But I"m 85, and I do all my editing for novella-size works, and under. I farm out the heavy lifting for novels to an editor at about $500 each. I do my own interior graphic design and front and back covers. I buy ISBNs ten at a time and the Copyright Office website makes it easy to do my own filing for copyright. Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing is also easy to use; they guide you through all the steps, they have help pages to refer to, and you can also seek help by searching the Internet, e.g,. "how do I size my book cover for paperbacks?" Fortunately, at my age, I still have a memory like one of those big grey animals.
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Is the goal for you novelist to make a movie from your books? It seems like covers seem to be an issue. I could do both; make your movie & provide you with a book cover independently done. I don't turn them into screenplays unless you have the patience for that.
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Thanks everyone for the advice and valuable information. At the moment I am in a funk suffering from PPCS (Post Publisher Collapse Syndrome). I realize I have a lot of work to do. I have decided to go...
Expand commentThanks everyone for the advice and valuable information. At the moment I am in a funk suffering from PPCS (Post Publisher Collapse Syndrome). I realize I have a lot of work to do. I have decided to go back to my first novel and re-edit it. A friend came up with the comment "mine them for gold." I am a better writer now and I think I can turn them from adequate to excellent. Writing a good thriller takes at least six months, if you really buckle down and work at it, or even longer. They big names put out one a year. My big problem is I don't have the income to pay out more money. My publisher spoiled me by supplying editing and art work. So, I will have to do it all myself. I will finish number five before I start slogging away at the beginning, again. When I started #5, I decided to wing it and just write. What a mess. Now I am outlining and building my chapters. I can see where I went wrong.
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Hi there, John. Wishing you much success with all your works. Please do keep us posted.