The video on how to get a book published gives you all the essential points in six-and-a-half minutes. The rest of the post lays it all out in greater details. But do watch the video, I think you'll find it entertaining as well as informative. https://youtu.be/OAld1EVMutY Essentially, authors have two ways to choose for how to get a book published: traditional legacy publishing and indie (independent) publishing. Traditional legacy publishing – the ‘big five’ publishing companies and their imprints.Selective;Funded by the publisher;Publisher takes the majority of the royalties (income from the book’s sales).Indie publishing includes:Small legacy publishers – independent from the big five;Hybrid publishers – selective but author-funded;Author-run and funded publishing houses (like an author’s cooperative or an author who also publishes friends).Self-publishing – Not selective, author pays, does the work and receives all the income; What does selective mean? Selective … [Read more...]

Books that display poor writing practices make me stop reading. In this article, I look at five poor writing practices to avoid. I read a lot. I always have, but in the past my reading was limited by the cost of books.  The arrival of ereaders on the publishing scene made books cheaper –especially indie books – which allowed me to indulge my passion for reading. But I read so much that I was still spending a lot each month, and so I joined Kindle Unlimited (KU) where I pay a monthly fee and can read as many books as I want without extra charge – as long as they’re in KU. This has allowed me to try all manner of books because if I don’t like them or they don’t hold me, I simply return them and find another. Cheaper but less trustworthy When I paid $25 for paperbacks, I took a long time to choose one I thought I’d like, and I always finished them. Publication by a mainstream publishing house - as they all were back then - meant that the books were at least readable even if we … [Read more...]

What do you do when feedback on your creative work indicates that you haven’t managed what you were trying to achieve and a total re-think is required, a rethink that will require new enthusiasm and an incredible amount of work? I give up. 'Ahh!' you might exclaim, horrified by the thought. 'Doesn't that mean you've failed?' No. Giving up isn't failing; it's part of the creative process. Giving up isn't the same as failing Even if you discard a project completely and never return to it, you will have learned from your writing and struggling with it, and the best ideas from that story will emerge in a new story, a better story. Perhaps you did fail to bring a book to publication, but that doesn't make you a failure; it makes you a writer, and a sensible one. Some stories are really not worth the work to fix them up because they'll never be that great a book, and if you can admit that, then you're freeing yourself up to write something else, something that could be a … [Read more...]