Authors Helping Authors discussion

It struck me today that many of our discussions are focused on self published and published authors and yet not all of our members are published. That small thread in my mind led me to wonder whether a dedicated area for those on the journey to publication would help.

So our goal here is to support you on that twisty road and help you in any way we can, as a group. To not only get you over that finishing line but to get you there in the best possible shape for the next test.

Rules are simple here,

Writers; (Who for the sake of this discussion I am classing as unpublished), ask away, post topics, don't worry. If a question is posted in the wrong place we can move it. Anything that is on your mind.

Authors; All I need here are answers from you and thank you for your time. Please do not post any book links here that are self promotion. Blog links only if pertinent to the question.

The only time that you will see a self promoting book link here is the day one of the writers participating finally crosses that finishing line. This thread is solely to help others achieve what you have, then they can graduate to your headaches of promotion etc.

I will start the discussion off with a few topics and we will see how this discussion goes.

Feel free to message me any time if you want a topic posted but do not wish to start it.

Ian

Hi anyone
I'm not ready yet but aim to be published by the end of the year.
Couple of questions
Do you have to pay for KDP? Smashwords?
Which would you say is better and why?
Thanks
Jenni

I can't comment on Smashwords, but KDP is free. As is Createspace if you want to do a paerback version.

Jenni wrote: "Hi anyone
I'm not ready yet but aim to be published by the end of the year.
Couple of questions
Do you have to pay for KDP? Smashwords?
Which would you say is better and why?
Thanks
Jenni"

Smashwords is also free. I couldn't say one is better than the other, though when you publish at Smashwords, once it goes into the premium catalog, it also gets distributed to other ebook sites such as Barnes & Noble, Sony, Apple, Kobo, etc. Actually, there's no reason why you shouldn't publish with both, which you can do so long as you do regular KDP and not the select version. If you also do Createspace, they will do the POD paperback version and KDP at the same time. All for free.

Hi guys,
This is a good idea. I'm kind of in-between, giving this year as my last great push to achieve traditional publication. Not that I think less of self-pub, but I think, all other things being equal, that for a new, unknown writer, trad publishing is more likely to get my book out there. I know either way I'll have to do my own marketing, but at least the publisher will get it into book stores, which self=pub can't do. Am I right, or have I missed something to consider?

You may have. I suppose it might depend where you live. I'm in Ontario and know that each of the Chapters Indigo stores here save five spots on a shelf for 'local authors' It's tough to get one and takes persistance, but my girlfriend has her book in there and also gets a table by the door sometimes to sell her book and autograph. I myself was exhausted with the traditional pub route and after speaking to a great agent, he told me that my being passed up was not about my book but rather the market. In my case, he said the market wouldn't support 'sexy elves' because no one was buying in that genre. He told me to consider self-pub for that series, but requested my Paranormal erotica for traditional.
If all goes well, I'll have a hybrid publishing career which kind of straddles both worlds.
Whatever you decide, keep at it and it'll payoff sometime.
JL Madore
www.jlmadore.ca

Hey, JL,
I'm in Ontario, too, so that is good info. And my end goal is to have a hybrid career - some trad-pub, some self-pub. I'd like to start with trad-pub, ideally, both for the "authenticity badge" and because I'd like to focus on marketing and let someone else do the technical stuff of getting in into print/e-form at first. But I know already I'm going to add some self-pub later, assuming I can get trad-pub'd.
Local authors is the catch, right? Have you had any luck getting it into Chapters outside of your hometown? I guess you might be able to stretch it with "where I was born/grew up/went to university/live now..."

Jane Ann wrote: "Hey, JL,
I'm in Ontario, too, so that is good info. And my end goal is to have a hybrid career - some trad-pub, some self-pub. I'd like to start with trad-pub, ideally, both for the "authenticity b..."

My girlfriend has her book in Oshawa, Ajax and Peterborough, so it doesn't have to be tooo local. I haven't tried yet. I've only e-published so far and am only a month into that. Also, I belong to an awesome writers community...largest in Canada. We take care of the technical stuff in house by hiring within our membership and that is an invaluable asset. Do you have a writer's support group near you?

Hi guys, I'm heading into the homestretch, I guess, with my debut novel. I am getting beta readers to look at it and making adjustments.

I have a few questions:
First, what are your thoughts on the proofreading/editing process and does anyone have any suggestions as to people or companies they have had experience with?

Second, I've seen KDP, smashwords and createspace here, and I guess my issue/frustration/problem (all with a positive twist though) is there are so many to wade through.

I've not looked at these three and some I have looked at charge various prices and it confuses me, I guess, as to what if any significant differences there are with all of these various companies competing for the business of an Indie author.

Also, sidenote, I'm from out west, Alberta. :)

J.L. which writers community to you belong to? I belong to a couple in Alberta and I find them so supportive.

J.L. wrote: "Jane Ann wrote: "Hey, JL,
I'm in Ontario, too, so that is good info. And my end goal is to have a hybrid career - some trad-pub, some self-pub. I'd like to start with trad-pub, ideally, both for th..."

J.L. wrote: "Jane Ann wrote: "Hey, JL,
I'm in Ontario, too, so that is good info. And my end goal is to have a hybrid career - some trad-pub, some self-pub. I'd like to start with trad-pub, ideally, both for th..."

No. I don't have a writer's group, though I've tried to start one - where is yours? If it's close enough and if I'd be able to, I'd love to join it. I'm in Waterloo, Ontario, but willing to drive to other locations.

I'm a member and on the board of The Writers Community of Durham Region www.wcdr.org It's a fabulous group with 345 members, a monthly breakfast meeting, workshops, and a talent pool with hundreds of skilled professionals.
I had my novel copy edited for 1500$ and the two ladies who did that for me are professional/full time editors in their day jobs as well. They edited using Track Changes also pointed out any glaring story arc inconsistancies. It's invaluable to have a professional polish.
I started with Lulu.ca and found them to be very friendly to newbies. Their process won't allow your manuscript to upload until it works with all the e-readers, so it's nice in that respect. Most of the big houses are free to post and sell and don't take your rights from you, but watch out for some of the others. I know IUniverse offers the 'package' but they also assume your rights. Always read the fine print about retaining your rights.
My two cents.
JL

Pam (E.P. Scott) wrote: "Hi guys, I'm heading into the homestretch, I guess, with my debut novel. I am getting beta readers to look at it and making adjustments.

I have a few questions:
First, what are your thoughts on th..."

Pam (E.P. Scott) wrote: "Hi guys, I'm heading into the homestretch, I guess, with my debut novel. I am getting beta readers to look at it and making adjustments.

I have a few questions:
First, what are your thoughts on th..."

J.L. wrote: "Jane Ann wrote: "Hey, JL,
I'm in Ontario, too, so that is good info. And my end goal is to have a hybrid career - some trad-pub, some self-pub. I'd like to start with trad-pub, ideally, both for th..."

Jane Ann wrote: "Hey, JL,
I'm in Ontario, too, so that is good info. And my end goal is to have a hybrid career - some trad-pub, some self-pub. I'd like to start with trad-pub, ideally, both for the "authenticity b..."

Hi Alberta Pam,
We Canadians seem to be taking this thread over. I'll be looking into Bookbaby for e-publishing when I'm ready = I've had it recommended. You can choose your services, apparently they are very helpful, good communicators right through the process. You pay up front then you get 100% of your sales. Print copies are different - it's important to take into consideration shipping costs of the books as well as the print costs, when comparing options.

Thanks guys...I am going to like this thread :)

Yep. That's why print on demand can end up being beneficial too.
I'm not sure about groups in Waterloo, but I'll ask around.

I should add, Bookbaby does the formatting for you. If you want to learn how to do that yourself, there are better places, like Createspace and Smashwords. I'm just not interested in spending the time learning, and would rather have a pro job. Buy your own ISBNs and create a name for yourself as publisher instead of using anyone else's name, are two pieces of advice I've also heard over and over.
I haven't done it yet. so this is the blind leading the blind, but I've been looking into it for a year.

Hey all, I am so pleased you are finding this thread useful. When you are all multi global published I'll show you round London.

This is exactly the interaction this thread was intended for. :)

You don't have to buy your ISBN number. If you register with the Canadian gov't they give you one and set up a profile for you to add books, track sales, etc. I've even called them with questions and the girls there have been great...I know, it's hard to believe. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/ci...

I'm not one to talk about the tech side. I'm married to a tech god and just left him to take care of things and pull his hair out.

Createspace for eBook was fine, but I was having trouble with the print version because you have to calculate the spine width for the wrap-around cover. I've got one of my fellow members at WCDR doing that for me now. I can't say enough about having the support of a writing community.

J.L. wrote: "You don't have to buy your ISBN number. If you register with the Canadian gov't they give you one and set up a profile for you to add books, track sales, etc. I've even called them with questions a..."

Thanks for that info on the ISBN number...I never knew that!

I agree on the support thing. The writing group I belong to are wonderful.

I'm going to throw something in here and may pay a price but it is more for discussion than confrontation. Writing groups / critiques may be helpful in pointing out flaws you already know but did not want to admit to. BUT

Don't be pushed into mediocrity and lose your vision but flattening your plot to accommodate those who are scared of pushing a boundary.

He says, discuss as I run away..... All I'm saying is stay true to your heart. Accept the critiques for what they are but paint your own picture.

Ian wrote: "I'm going to throw something in here and may pay a price but it is more for discussion than confrontation. Writing groups / critiques may be helpful in pointing out flaws you already know but did n..."

No running away necessary, you are absolutely right! When I get my ms back from a beta reader, I have what I call my proverbial WTF garbage can beside me.

I don't get upset, or hindered, or pushed to change...I look at what all my beta readers have sent me, read through each one and take what I think will make the ms better.

I have found that critiques are very subjective, each person having their own style and intent when trying to help you.

Everything is helpful in one way or another.

Where do you buy those? I want a WTF bin. Mostly for my own deletions. I posted a comment on twitter a few days ago that made me put my head down and accept the odd grenade. It was about this. I read a lot both indie and main. Hunger games well huge to me. Published. Leiyatel's embrace. Indie huge. Storm dancer indie huge. Published four more average. Twilight series to tempered no ambition yet huge. I prefer indie books that are not edited to fit a profile so as to be dull. And sometimes you buy a bit of crap as a consequence but so be it.

Ian wrote: "Where do you buy those? I want a WTF bin. Mostly for my own deletions. I posted a comment on twitter a few days ago that made me put my head down and accept the odd grenade. It was about this. I re..."

LMAO...and yes, that bin comes in handy for my own WTF's as well.

I read both main and indie and there really is no definitive line between what's good and what's bad.

That's an interesting comment you made though. "I prefer indie books that are not edited to fit a profile so as to be dull." I never thought of it that way before.

Thanks for the link re Canadian ISBNs. That's amazing! I've never heard of that before. Go Canada!
When I was in a writer's group we had a saying - if someone gave you a really negative critique you didn't agree with, look him/her in the eye and say, "I'm sorry you didn't get it." I remember that. when I disagree with comments. But I also think, if one person says it, think about it; if two people say it, consider it seriously; if 3 people say it, you probably want to make the change.

Jane Ann wrote: "Thanks for the link re Canadian ISBNs. That's amazing! I've never heard of that before. Go Canada!
When I was in a writer's group we had a saying - if someone gave you a really negative critique yo..."

Yes, I agree. If my beta readers pick out the same error than I know it needs to be changed.

Hi JL. I checked out the Canadian ISBN site - CISS - it says it's for publishers. Did you register yourself as an independent publisher (of your own books)? Did you use their ISBNs for books printed & e-published in the US?

I called them and if you're self publishing then you are the publisher. I didn't need to register anything, just put my name down and yes, Amazon, Createspace and B&N all took my Can ISBN without issue.

The issue comes in applying for a ITIN number with the American IRS. I've been plodding through that for a bit, but now only have to get my ID noterized to send it in. If you don't have one, the American sites withhold 30% taxes instead of the 10-15% they're actually entitled to. I found this site: www.stepbystepselfpublishing.net/how-... which helped and FYI- for Canada, our Article number is 12. It took me days to find that. 12. How stupid.

Thanks. Very Useful info! Hope we meet some day.

What's an ITIN? I've never heard of that one.

It's an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number and you don't have to get one if you don't mind forfeiting the tax, but Canada has a treaty with the US that says they shouldn't take that much...so why let them. Oh and I double checked...it' actually 5-10% that they can hold, so that's 20% of your sales you can get back.

Good to know.

This is very good information. Thank you!

Not a problem. Glad to share. You can friend me and if you run in to any other questions, feel free to ask.
JL Madore

Phew, I feel like I've been to Canada !! Seems like a great country. My son wants to move to Canada some day as he is training to be a video games designer.

Back to the thread- all of this info is so useful. I wish I had a local writers support group, but alas in the back mountains of France I have not found one....
Maybe I should try to start one up, but I can barely find the time to input on this site.
Interesting idea establishing self as publisher...Thanks again

Just joined this site not even an hour ago actually. I'm still getting my feet wet and having a look around. This may not be exactly the type of question everyone the OP was looking for in this thread.

My question for those that have published. Is there any reason you can think of that a self-publishing author should not to use a pen name?

Maybe the place to start with this is, why do you think they should?

Jane Ann wrote: "Maybe the place to start with this is, why do you think they should?"

The thing that comes to mind instantly is perhaps someone may not want their epic fantasy about overly-sexualized werewolves coming up in a search conducted by a potential employer. (not what I'm writing by the way haha)

There are plenty of reasons for that I'm aware of. For example some prominent authors have used pen names to conceal the fact that they are women writing action or thriller novels. example J.K. Rowling.

I'm generally just looking to find if any authors who have used pen names have found any downsides to doing so?

I'll say, that while I'm not published...yet...I will write under the pen name E.P. Scott.

One reason is my last name is far to difficult to pronounce and a second reason is my mom always wanted to write but never did. She wanted to always write as Eva Scott, so I decided to use that originally but Eva Scott is an actual writer so I chose E for Eva, P for Pam and kept Scott. Thirdly, I write action adventure thriller type stuff and, yes, it's a very difficult genre for women to write in, as I suppose romance would be for a man (I am sure there is an argument or discussion to be had in there but that is the generalized feeling I get).

So, those are my logistics for writing under a pen name. I don't know how it will work out but I know lots of people do it so I guess I'll just have to wait and see what happens.

Creating a "brand" can be more difficult with a pen name in that you may find yourself with double social media accounts. Since I took on Tasha Turner as a pen/business name I've had little time to keep up with friends on my personal Tasha Lennhoff accounts.

Also I had to do paperwork to get a trade name/DBA (doing business as). On the other hand pen names can be useful if you fear backlash from religious people or as you said future employers. They can also be a good way to differentiate your writing if you write totally different genres although most people today use pen name and their already known author name so fans can find their work.

Thanks for the replies. I'm unpublished as well having only finished a few shorts and currently working on the 2nd draft of what I hope will be my novel. I believe I will work under a pen name as well. I'm just trying to get all my ducks in a row before hand. Basically getting ahead of my self. Thanks again.

One thing...I don't think you can get ahead of yourself, especially when self publishing. It's important to work on social media, work on a platform, get known before you publish so that when you launch your book your name is already out there.

It's never too early to start branding you own name. Make sure you are using it regularly prior to publication so you have a base/friends.

I thought about using a pen name because I write in different genres. That used to be typical, so book stores wouldn't put your Romance novel in the SF section with your SF novels. More and more now I see authors who did this reverting back to their own name when the book comes out in a new printing. First, it's better for online sales to have your books under one name, so fans who read different genres (like, most readers) can find all your books. Second, it's generally better marketing to use your time and money promoting one brand name, instead of diluting both time and money over two or more pen names. You already have tons of people who know you by your own name - people in clubs, groups you belong to, church, jobs you have and used to have, high school & university, your blog, website, FB, Twitter - You've been building up a lifetime of name recognition, and it doesn't make sense to throw that away and start over, unless you have a really good reason to do so.

Really don't mean to overrun this topic will all this pen name talk but I do want to take the advice given here in the last few posts about getting started with building a brand and a audience.

I'm toying with these two pen names at the moment looking for any insight that can be given. D. L. Sharp or D. L. Slade (or any better suggestions)

ACL wrote: "Really don't mean to overrun this topic will all this pen name talk but I do want to take the advice given here in the last few posts about getting started with building a brand and a audience.

I..."

I'll put my two cents in here...I like Slade better than Sharp, but D.L. doesn't roll off my tongue in a smooth way and I it when letters do...eg. J.K. Rowling or J.D. Robb or E.P. Scott (sorry, I had to throw the last in there, lol...just my thoughts :))

Does D.L. have some special meaning for you?

ACL wrote: "Really don't mean to overrun this topic will all this pen name talk but I do want to take the advice given here in the last few posts about getting started with building a brand and a audience.

I..."

I don't think the name choice matters , its the title of your book and the quality of your writing that will sell your books.

Pam (E.P. Scott) wrote: "ACL wrote: "Really don't mean to overrun this topic will all this pen name talk but I do want to take the advice given here in the last few posts about getting started with building a brand and a a..."

Thanks for the feedback. And well kind of they are my initials.

ACL wrote: "Pam (E.P. Scott) wrote: "ACL wrote: "Really don't mean to overrun this topic will all this pen name talk but I do want to take the advice given here in the last few posts about getting started with..."

Ah, I only asked because my pen name had special meaning to me. :-)

I don't know if this is the right place to ask this, but can anyone tell me what to do? On one of my books on Goodreads the link to Amazon doesn't work. How can I correct that?

Make sure the ISBN and ASIN numbers are correct.

Thank you, Tasha, I'll have a look.