So a little funny that I have two blogs in a row that have to do with self publishing since I’m getting published traditionally, but there you have it. The following is by a highly esteemed author friend, Jessica Bradshaw. Enjoy…

At some point every writer has to decide whether or not they wish to become an author. The difference? An author is published. A writer is not. First off, a writer must decide if they are writing for themselves, or to share. Those writing for themselves may never pursue publishing, but those who want to share MUST share…and there are a thousand different ways, from blogging and tweeting to printing books. If, however, the writer wants to make money, the game changes…entirely. A decade or two ago, things were simple…and limited. Today, even though things are a bit more complicated, our options are OPEN. For those of us who want to share our stories with the world – whose sole intent is NOT to make money, our options are limitless. That said, the avenue I originally selected – traditional publishing – ended up a non-option. Not because I’m not competent, or because I lack plot, imagination, and decent characters, or because my query letters suck. It turns out my trilogy is too outside the norm, and therefore is not marketable. Intense, fascinating, and beautifully-written, (according to half a dozen agents and a few editors,) but not marketable. I am not alone in having written an unmarketable manuscript, and I have learned that my manuscript does indeed have a niche…just not one a traditional publisher is willing to persue. Let me be clear: I’m not looking to profit. I just love to write. My first novel cost me six months of my life…just in research. 40 typewritten pages of research, actually, all stored on my hard drive. It also cost me two more YEARS of writing, revising, editing, editing, editing…and the end product is completely different from the beginning. I LOVE to write. I confess, I’m also being selfish: I want my children to grow up seeing their mom’s books on the shelf, knowing that their mother defines herself as someone – authentically Jessica Bradshaw – instead of something: “Mother,” “Wife,” “Homemaker.” Their mother is a real person, creative, intelligent, passionate, eager, imaginative…and capable of more than dishes and laundry. I wanted – NEEDED – to see my book(s) in print. And if traditional publishing wasn’t an option, self-publishing was the avenue I had to pursue. I confess, too, that I had NO IDEA what I was getting myself into. It’s rather like child-bearing: Had I known exactly what I was in for, I’d probably still have done it, but I might have given it a little (or a LOT) more consideration. What does self-publishing really entail? Why is it such a challenge? Allow me to elaborate. You write. You edit. And edit and edit and edit and edit and edit, and find beta readers to slap you with the occasional “THIS BITES” and edit and edit and edit some more until you have a book you can be proud of. Both practice and patience make perfect. But then there’s “ready” for publishing, and “perfected” for publishing. Proof time. With traditional publishing, a typo is their fault. You’re perfect. With self-publishing, a typo is ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT, and EVERYONE KNOWS IT. So you proof and proof and proof, and maybe hire someone to do it so you have a fresh set of eyes on the manuscript you’ve been poring over for years. Once perfected, you choose a self-publisher. Then a binding and size and paper type and color and layout and font type and size. If no template is available, you must create one, and then move your manuscript to it. But when you do that, something will get screwed up. Something always gets screwed up, and you have to perfect it. You’re in charge of title pages, pagination, author notes…even figuring out where to put blank pages, and how many. Then you create a pdf from the template and upload it.

And what about a cover? If you’re writing YA, like me, it needs to be a photo-realistic cover, so you’d better have experience with photoshop (AND images licensed for your use!) or a VERY capable cover artist. (I’ve got one for you, in case you’re interested, and she’s VERY reasonably priced. Check out here site HERE and tell her I sent you.) Covers take time and money, of course, so be prepared…and make sure you have rights to the images used, or you could wind up in court. And while you are working on the cover, you’ll also need back cover text. More likely than not you’re a writer, not a marketer, so plan on that taking a while.

Now, cover done – lord-willing, it meets the specifications of your publisher! – you upload it, wait for your book to process, order (at your expense) a proof copy and…WAIT. When it comes, REVIEW IT. Something will be wrong, you’ll correct it, re-upload your brand new pdf, wait for processing, order another proof, and if the planets are properly aligned, you can release your book for publication and order your own copies…after you “sign” agreements and submit your ssn for tax purposes and set your pricing and choose your distribution lines. And of course, you’ll want one of those distribution lines to be your website. You have a web address, found a host, and paid a web designer, right? (And an author site? Facebook fan page? Twitter account? A professional headshot, writer bio, excerpts, etc?) Now hook up your paypal account to your website so people can buy directly from you…at the price you agreed to in your contracts. Order enough copies to cover people who might buy from your site, because it’s actually YOU selling and shipping them. You’ll also need your book in ebook form. (I highly recommend smashwords for simplicity and ease of distribution.) You have to RE-reformat your manuscript in ebook style, but after two or three hours of major frustration you’ll get it…eventually. Oops! I forgot about press releases, marketing., SEO, a writer blog, RSS feeds, merchandising, arranging your own appearances, signings, and offering your self-published book to major bookstores on commission. Did I say challenging? I meant nearly impossible…unless you’re REALLY motivated. I am. I’m tired, but motivated. Out hundreds of dollars, but thrilled. Oh, and still enjoying my day job: motherhood. Good luck, all, and if ever you consider self-publishing, I’m here with you!

The following review is a guest post from a fellow author named Lauren Elizabeth:

As I am getting ready to self-publish my book soon, I came across the book The Fine Print of Self-Publishing. It was worth every penny and more. Mark Levine is a Lawyer, so he has analyzed publishing contracts telling you what you should watch out for. It’s everything you need to know about the costs, contract, and process of self-publishing, don’t miss this opportunity to get an insight. He reviews the following companies in his book: Arbor Books, AuthorHouse, Aventine Press, BookLocker, BookPros, CreateSpace, Dog Ear Publishing, Dorrance Publishing, iUniverse, Llumina Press, Lulu, Magic Valley Publishing, Outskirts Press, PublishAmerica, Trafford Publishing, Wasteland Press, Xlibris, Wordclay, and more in each new addition. Mark has gone through the companies and placed them into five categories: Outstanding, Pretty Good, Ok, Publishers to Avoid, and the Worst of the Worst. If you’re new to self-publishing, before you even touch your checkbook, buy this book. It was a lifesaver for me.

About a month ago, I began researching different self-publishing companies, unsure about which were actually good or not. Certain companies were doing a 50% off special on their packages but it only lasted for less than a week from when I found out about it. I had to work fast. Spending virtually all my time researching many different companies, reading reviews taking notes, and asking questions. Ten pages of notes later and I still hadn’t found the company which I felt would truly be a good fit for me. That was until I stumbled across the book The Fine Print of Self-Publishing by Mark Levine. The book was an eye opener, as it showed me what I was about to get myself into and instead directed me to a more reliable publisher. Thanks to Levine, I will be spending half as much money and will be confident with my choice. I can take the money I saved and put it into other funds like marketing and getting a nice set of business cards, etc. When publishing, every penny counts and it all adds up. Don’t make the mistake of spending too much.

Deciding which self-publisher to use is a difficult one, don’t just choose one uninformed. Take the time to read this eye-opening book. It only took me a day – it’s not that long but heavily filled with information. It comes in harback or ebook, so if your bookstore doesn’t have it then download it. I think it’s worth every penny!

Lauren Elizabeth is an aspiring young adult author, who writes fantasy/sci-fi fiction. She will begin the process of self-publishing her first novel,Looks of an Angel, a manuscript which takes you out of this world and into a completely different one, Pluto. After Aly (the main character) is taken captive by the Neptwainians (Neptune people) and taken to Neptune, she is put through a series of painful tests, which change her appearance and test her strengths. To learn more about her and this book you can visit her blog.

One of the most interesting questions to answer as an author is “Where do you get your ideas?” This isn’t that difficult of a question, of course. It’s just more of a complex answer. (At least, for me. Maybe other authors feel differently.) I say complex because when I give the simple answer of “Everywhere”, it just brings on more questions. So, what do I mean by everywhere? Just that. I get ideas from reading other fiction, reading non-fiction, and from watching the news or Dateline. I get ideas from getting bored and letting my mind wander. I get ideas from all kinds of conversations with people. Sometimes my friends and I will have some random philosophical discussion, and I’ll think that I can make a story out of our topic. Someone can be very rude to me and I’ll think that the rude person could be a great character in one of my books. Sometimes, I’ll hear someone else’s conversation and will get an idea from them.

Ideas are everywhere. Sometimes I have thought of something that I think is a really great and original idea, then later discover that someone else has already thought of it. (I think a lot of authors have had that experience!) But that just goes to show how many people are paying attention to their imaginations. Really, ideas are the easy part.  The hard part is to have an incongruent idea and turn it into something substantial. Something that other people are going to love as much as you do. Sometimes things can fall together perfectly and the plot will be solid. Other times, you may have to think a bit harder to really make it work.

I think part of the idea process is to push yourself outside of your comfort zone. You know – “think outside the box” and all that jazz. I went to a class at a writer’s conference. It was a two hour workshop that was all about pushing your brain to think in ways you normally wouldn’t want to. (It was taught by Clint Johnson, and he was awesome, for those of you who might be interested.) It helped me to be able to put my characters through things that could possibly break them. The whole point was not to necessarily change your story into something strange and possibly very dark, but to just say to yourself “What if…” For instance, what if your character actually got raped instead of being saved in the nick of time? What would that do to her spirit? How would it change the dynamics of the romance in the story? Or, what if the child dies instead of miraculously being saved? Things like that. It doesn’t mean that you’ll change your story to that, it just helps you to try new things with your story and its characters so they’re not limited in your own head.

So, all of you authors out there, keep reading. Keep watching the news and be aware of what’s going on around you. Go to a public place and observe people and their interactions. It will definitely give you ideas. And keep your imagination going, too (of course!). You will get ideas. There is no doubt about that. And then keep asking yourself (or your fellow critiquers) “What if…?” You might enjoy the mental journey.

So lately I have just been dying for my publisher to contact me and let me know what they’re thinking for my cover art. I know they told me there would be one for the hardback cover and a different one for when the paperback comes out. There are so many different types of images they could use that would apply to my vampire novel. In my head, I am thinking of at least twenty different types of images they might use. I like the thought of having a woman’s face whited out a little with a bright red, bloody tear trailing down her cheek. I think that one is my favorite from what I’ve come up with on my own. Once I get to see what my publisher is thinking, then I’ll really start to get excited.

So where am I going with this little ramble, you might ask? Cover art is so very important to the sale of a book! The term “You can’t judge a book by its cover” may be true, but it’s not the way the world works. I personally have learned to try and not pick up a book solely based on its cover. At times I have picked up a book that looked so nifty from its cover, then read said book and felt like I had just wasted my valuable time on it. Also the reverse has happened where I have looked at a cover that I thought appeared lame, read it anyway and loved it. So that very popular saying is absolutely true. Judging a book by its cover is not going to guarantee that you will get what you’re expecting. However, if you want to market a book (which is of course, key to getting people to read your book!), then you need to be very involved in making its appearance so intriguing that people will stop whatever they are doing to look at it.

If an author doesn’t have an image for their book that has allure, then they are not going to be nearly as successful. One of my author friends has an amazing cover for her first book. She got bookmarks made from that image and gave them out everywhere she went. She gave about five hundred of them to her local library, then came in about a week later. All of them were gone and the librarians asked if they could have more to give out for the rest of the month, possibly longer. This one act generated quite a few sales for her. Once people read her book, they recommended it to others and so began her success as an author.

Of course, her book was well written and so people advised others to read it. If her book had been bad, it would have gotten those first few buyers, and that would have been the end of it. So while I’m trying to make a particular point tonight about images, I would also like to note that you need to have a fantastic product to be truly successful. So combing an amazing book cover with an incredible book with a compelling plot and complex characters, it will help set the bar for your book to make the rounds out there in the world. And that’s what all of us authors want, right?