Last time I talked about author dogma, and how there is a segment of authors who look down on authors who self publish. Well today I am going to give some tips on how to make your book better, and maybe ooze with excellence.First off, other than writing the book, you have to edit fiercely. There is no compromise on this. You also need to learn how to use a blog, social media, and surround yourself with other wonderful authors. I know authors who have made it big, to the little guy just like me. Don't be a nag, but be friendly. If you can build a relationship with these other writers they will be more likely to help you.
Hire an editor. Someone who not only can help you with grammar, but structure too. Someone who reads a lot. If you want your book to drip with excellence then you have to have an editor. Don't crank out crap. Don't give the dogmatic authors a reason to bitch.
Either learn how to make great book covers, or hire an artist. Either way you should have a photo editor to edit the covers. I have a simple one, but it does the job. Along with 80 some free fonts to choose from. Play with your cover, spend hours obsessing over what looks better. Learn it! You need to make your book look like it drips with excellence before a reader can crack it open. If I see a book with a lame cover, and I don't know the author, I won't pick it up. The cover represents the story, so if the cover is lame, then the story probably is. If you think that a story can still be great with a lame cover, that's great. I will take your word for it :^) I use photo scape and gimp.
Read up on marketing. On publishing. On editing. What do agents, editors, publishers look for? What do they want? Even if you publish only through self pub, write it, and produce it as if you were doing so for a huge publisher. Just because you are the CEO of your book doesn't warrant crap. Make it glorious! Give those dogmatic authors a reason to eat crow.
Being a success in writing is not something that blossoms overnight. It didn't blossom overnight for JK Rowling or Stephanie Meyer. Criticism aside, they are both authors who worked to get where they are at today. Or Amanda Hocking, she worked so very hard. And they got it easy. There are authors who don't become famous or well off until after ten, maybe twenty years of writing. Your best chance is to stick with it, be patient, handle rejection with mature composure, keep reading in both fiction and non-fiction, and by God, KEEP WRITING! And keep learning your craft. A writer is a perpetual student.
Here are some helpful links for those of you wanting to self publish, you don't have to read any of these, but I would suggest that you do:
25 things-you-should-know-about-self-publishing, nothing else, read Chuck Wendig's blog posts. He's a freaking genius
http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2011/08/30/25-things-you-should-know-about-self-publishing/
Self Publishing Sites
http://www.foliumbookstudio.com/
https://www.smashwords.com/about/supportfaq#Publishing
http://blog.smashwords.com/2011/09/how-to-self-publish-ebook-with.html
Stock pictures, you will need to pay for them if you want material for covers
http://www.shutterstock.com/
Free photo-editors
http://www.photoscape.org/ps/main/index.php
http://gofree.com/download/Windows-Software/Graphic-Design/gimp.php
Free fonts for covers
http://www.fontsquirrel.com/
Professional Artist For Hire, in case you want to spend your cover money on custom art
Gary McCluskey
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1258952827
Justin T Coons
http://www.facebook.com/justintcoons
Robert Elrod
http://www.facebook.com/robertelrod
On Editing
http://jamigold.com/2011/03/a-perfectionists-guide-to-editing-4-stages/
Social Media Jedi
http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/
Further Reading
http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2011/03/guest-post-by-john-locke.html
http://writeitforward.wordpress.com/
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