How to Make It Self-Publishing

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.

You want to be a great author, it will take everything you have for the rest of your life. For us crazy authors, it is a fiery passion that never stops burning. For the wannabes, they just can't hack the commitment. If you want to write great books, ask yourself, “How bad do you want it?” You want it bad enough, you will keep at it.

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/

Undead Drive-Thru, by Rebecca Besser

Art by Justin T. Coons

When Kyndra, Colleen, and Jose apply for jobs at a diner that has seen better days and is undergoing renovations, they have no idea what they’re in for.

Aunt-B and John have a horrible secret, and when it’s unleashed on the unsuspecting employees of the diner, things get . . . complicated.

Bloodthirsty and dangerous, a zombie awaits the opportunity to feast on them all. Who will be served first?

Can any of them make it out of the Undead Drive-Thru alive?

BUY HERE!!!


Dale Eldon

Recently I read Rebecca's book, Undead Drive-Thru, and I have to say I was drawn in from the very first line.

For the first time since Return of the Living Dead remade zombie lore, a story with it's own edge in the genre has found life in the pages of Undead Drive-Thru. Rebecca has an original take on the zombie experience that stands on its own.

Rebecca Besser doesn't waste time getting to the point, and she still gives you a full mental image of the horror. As a fast food employee, I totally enjoyed the idea of a zombie attack in a diner. Kinda makes you wonder what horrors Rebecca herself has seen in restaurants.

At the end of this tale you still feel an overwhelming need for a Big Mac, remember that you just might be a Happy Meal with legs.

I give this sweet novella a five out of five stars! And it is a story I plan reading again and again.

What this book left me with, what else does this crazy woman have in store for her readers?

In case you haven't this creepy tale, and you are just dying to get a copy, here is the link to the Kindle version below.


BUY HERE!!!


No Kindle? No problem. You can download the FREE Kindle app and read, Undead Drive-Thru on your computer. Or if you prefer print, click on the Paperback option.

Rebecca's Bio

 Hi, I'm Rebecca Besser, a wife, mother, editor, and full time writer, and the author of "Undead Drive-Thru" a zombie novella. I write fiction, nonfiction, and poetry for various age groups and genres.

I'm a graduate of the Institute of Children's Literature. My work has appeared in the Coshocton Tribune, Irish Story Playhouse, Spaceports and Spidersilk, joyful!, Soft Whispers, Illuminata, Common Threads, Golden Visions Magazine, Stories That Lift, Super Teacher Worksheets, Living Dead Presents Magazine (Issues 1 and 2), The Broke One, The Stray Branch, and The Undead That Saved Christmas and the Signals From The Void charity anthologies. I'm also a contributor to multiple Collaboration of the Dead projects. I have multiple stories in anthologies by Living Dead Press, Wicked East Press, NorGus Press, Pill Hill Press, Hidden Thoughts Press, Coscom Entertainment, Knight Watch Press, and one in an anthology by Post Mortem Press. I also have a poem in an anthology by Naked Snake Press.