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What You Need to Know About Writing and Publishing Your First Novel
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Hi Layla,It's my pleasure.
Sebastian :)
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Hi author dude! How did you find us? Sorry that destiny creeped you out. Obsessive readers are very...... Obsessive.
Hi Allets,Destiny was just fine. Louise invited me. Great group!
Sebastian :)
Thank you! I'm not a mod but thank you!
Ohmygosh, des. You are hopeless.
What a great article! Thank you for this priceless information!
This article is just fantastic. And so is the author, but that's just me thinking out loud....
Sebastian, thanks for sharing this information with us, it'll be really helpfull. :)
That was very kind of you, Sofia. Thanks! <3
Thank you Sebastian.Your article was fantastic. It had so much great information and tips and I will definitely recommended it to any that ask. In fact the single greatest thing I found in the article and actually pushed me to finally start my first book was the Scrivener tool that you mentioned.
I know you said that you do not personally use it but if I could say that I'm four days into using it and it is great for the beginning writer.
One question I did have is do you know the requirements for e-book cover art such as size and resolution?
It's funny that there are only three comments that apply to the thread in all these comments.
Hi Ty,Thank you for your kind words. Good luck in starting your first book!
If you were publishing a paperback book, the cover image should be 6x9 with a resolution of 300 dpi. I'm not sure what the requirements are for an eBook, so I shot an email to my formatter asking him that question. I'll let you know as soon as I hear back. Thanks for the great question!
Sebastian :)
Hey Ty, I appologize for intruding, but how exactly does Scrivener works? I never heard of it here in Portugal... I figured it's some kind of program, but can't seem to fully understand how it works.
I found some information here: http://literatureandlatte.com/scriven... but I believe is a version for Windows 8 only. Don't know if I'm wrong... I have Windows 7 in my computer.
Usually, I do my writings in word but I can see that Scrivener is much different.
Could you please tell us more about your experience with it? I really would like to learn more about it.
Thank you and please forgive me if I'm bothering you with all these questions.
Here are some tutorials for Scrivener from their website:http://literatureandlatte.com/video.php
Here's their overview:
http://literatureandlatte.com/videos/...
From what I've heard, there's a learning curve that you have to go through to learn how to use Scrivener. But once you've gotten the hang of it, it is supposed to be very good.
Hi Ty,Here's the reply that I received from my formatter:
The answer used to be 1200 pixels on the longest side at 300 dpi, but things are fast a changing. Now Amazon and LSI require the same dimensions as s print cover, and I suspect other vendors will demand that as well at some point in the future. So a safe bet is: 6 inches wide x 9 inches high at 300 dpi resolution. Can't go wrong with that. Of course the image doesn't have to be those exact dimensions just as long as it can fit a 6x9 cover without being stretched. Must be 300 dpi, however. Pixels would be above 1800 x 2700. Somewhere around there. Within that ballpark.
I hope that helps.
Sebastian :)
Sebastian wrote: "Here are some tutorials for Scrivener from their website:http://literatureandlatte.com/video.php
Here's their overview:
http://literatureandlatte.com/videos/..."
Thanks for the info. :)
Your article was the first time I've ever heard of it. Anyway, it seems a very interesting tool although I agree it will take some time get used to it.
Guess I'll give it a try and see how it works.
Thanks again!
Hi Sofia,Perhaps Ty will discuss his experiences with it. I've never used it, so I could not say. Good luck!
Sebastian :)
Sofia wrote: "Hey Ty, I appologize for intruding, but how exactly does Scrivener works? I never heard of it here in Portugal... I figured it's some kind of program, but can't seem to fully understand how it wo..."
Hi Sofia,
I am really enjoying this software. It was originally made for Mac computers. I am using Windows 8. My back ground is in IT and from what I have seen so far there is no reason it will not run fine on Windows 7. Plus you can get a free 30 day trial so I would install it and if it has issue then your no worse off.
I started by watching a few tutorials on their site but then also found a better one on YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DthBJ...
So started my book by using the built in Novel template. It is great because It contains common folders and templates that would be used in making a book. Like character templates, places template ect. Things that I had not really thought about. See I have the idea of the book in my head and some of the characters but the templates really made me think about each character, where is the story going to be set and all the little details.
I have spent a couple days just building the character list (which with the name generator tool helps so much). I have just now started on the places templates and figuring out all that. So I go out on the web and gather information and images which I can just throw into the Resources section. For easy recall.
I think the thing that really excites me is that when I finally get to the actually writing the story the time frame will be decreased dramatically because The tools are so help full that I will have everything fleshed out and the BEST part...all that information is at my finger tips in the left menu so I can easily check info instead of having to open folders and files switching back and fourth.
Some other things that really struck me was that I learned from the YouTube video that instead of just using Word and having page after page in a document I can cut it up into smaller scenes with in a chapter folder and when you compile the story it automatically combines all the files together.
At first I was just fumbling a long but it did not take long to figure out to creat folders in my character folder to group characters together and even sub folders in them such as Male and Female and sub folders of groups of characters for various scenes.
Now I know I have not used any other kind of tool but I have to say I am loving this tool and cannot imagine what else I would need to make writing my book any easier with everything right at my finger tips.
I also noticed that it has a recipe template which might be great. I use evernote now but there are things I do not like so if this is as great for that as for my book I will be extremely happy.
Sorry if I'm wordy :-) If you need more info let me know.
Geez I really missed all the grammar issue when I posted that :-0
Sebastian wrote: "Hi Ty,Here's the reply that I received from my formatter:
The answer used to be 1200 pixels on the longest side at 300 dpi, but things are fast a changing. Now Amazon and LSI require the same di..."
Thank you so much for the information!
Sofia wrote: "Hey Ty, I appologize for intruding, but how exactly does Scrivener works? I never heard of it here in Portugal... I figured it's some kind of program, but can't seem to fully understand how it wo..."
Any luck Sofia?
Hey Ty!Thank you so much for your opinion on Scrivener. First of all, I really must tell you that I'll be looking forward for your book. You thought of everything so carefully that got me wondering about the story and I don't even know what the book is about... :D
I've been having some problems with my computer and a friend of mine had it for the last week to see what's wrong with the damn thing... :)Hopefully, it'll be working fine now.
I'm downloading the free trial right now and I've been watching the tutorials you and Sebastian suggested. It really seems a great tool to work with.
I've been writing using Word, but sometimes is hard working with it because you're always going back and forward when you need to check the story line or something about a particular scene or character. Get's a little complicated and sometimes I end up forgetting what I was thinking on writing next.
It's very rare for me to just sit and write. I do it on my breaks from work so kind of write when something pops in my head. Using Word, even if I get the all scene in my head, if I need to check on something I wrote before I end up loosing a lot of time looking for it and even rearranging it, so when I start developing the idea... it's just gets lost and turns out not exactly how I first pictured it.
Let's seen if I can handle Scrivener! :)
Thanks again and sorry if you find any grammar mistakes... :) I read a lot in english (mostly in english actually), but writing... :)
Sofia wrote: "Hey Ty!Thank you so much for your opinion on Scrivener. First of all, I really must tell you that I'll be looking forward for your book. You thought of everything so carefully that got me wonderi..."
Thanks Sofia, I love that I intrigued you in my writing just with what I explained.
Your grammar was great especially since I assume it is not your first language which I'm envious of.
The only thing that could make Scrivener better is if they make a mobile version. It would be great if I could add things as I think of them usually at work ha!.
As far as your PC goes if you need any advice or help let me know. My profession at this time is computer IT and I would be happy to help since that is a vital writing tool!.
While I have finally started putting my book on e-paper (ha) when I get stumped while thinking of ideas I do research on other aspects of self publishing.So I thought I would share what I found so far and if anyone has some other great links let me know.
Promotion:
I just read this this morning and found the information useful. https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...
I also found that this page had a great tip about publishing your book and making it available outside your home country. http://www.unrulyguides.com/2013/12/k...
I'm also trying to do research in making my book cover and as this is my first book and have no $ for a professional (plus I like the challenge) I am looking for cheap or free tools. YouTube is a good resource for this as well. I have seen how to make it in PowerPoint which thankfully I already have but not sure if it will have the complexity needed for a great cover. There are also some free online tools but I always have a slight mistrust of tools like this mostly because I cannot control what they due with my data.
Good luck all you future published authors!
Good luck, Ty. I wish you all the best!Sebastian :)
Hey everyone!I've downloaded Scrivener and I've been working with it these last couple of days.
Ty was absolutely right, it's fantastic! A mobile version would be great too, that way we could save our ideias on the move! :D
What I'm doing right now is organizing what I had in Word, sorting chapters and rearraging some scenes. I'm using the good old “copy/paste” method because I can't seem to find any other way to do it. :p
I must say that I haven't done much so far, because I fell a sudden change of heart about the way I was conducting the story and some parts called for a remake.
Let's just say that it's not something I hadn't done before. :D The big difference is that with Scrivener it's easier to find what I want and to pinpoint the exact part that I don't like or that I think needs to be redone. At least I think so!
I found the character and places folders really helpfull. I've been sorting some of the main details of the places and the characters on my story and been developing them. I think it's important for us to have our settings in mind and also how our characters look like or like to dress or behave. That way I'll have everything at my disposal with only one click.
And that way I won't mess up by changing hair or eye colors... I recently read a book in which the main character had blue eyes and a few pages later his eyes mysteriously turned black. I wonder if he suddenly decided to wear color contact lenses. :)
Let's see how it goes from now on.
Publishing will be a major issue for me (if I ever reach that stage of the process, of course!)
We have Amazon US, UK, France, Spain... Portugal? Nope. Nothing.
So if I ever dream of publishing my book and going international (which would be a huge step), I have only one of two options: I write the book in english or translate the entire book.
1st option: not a problem. I've been reading in english for so long that sometimes I find it easier to express myself in english. I know this will seem odd to some people since I have no english background except for what I've learned in high school, but it is what it is.
As for the 2nd option... well I have a thing with translations. They're tricky, one bad choice of words and the meaning of a whole sentence is lost. We don't just throw things on Google Translator and voilá! Although I've been reading some really bad translations over the years that make me think that people really use Google and that's why I've decided to buy and read my books in english.
Recently, I bought the portuguese version of "Sand Dollar" by Sebastian Cole and I regret every cent I spent on it. Please don't get me wrong, I loved everything about the book (really did!): loved the story, the way it was written and the characters (and it's not even my favorite genre). But I truly and deeply hated the translation (my appologies to the translator but that's how I feel) and therefore I regret my decision of buying it in portuguese.
So either way I'll be facing a problem: finding someone willing to go through my book and check grammar and spelling. Probably I'll have to hire someone to do it.
Publishing is a challenge on itself, even self-publishing. I'm not an expert on the subject but I live in a small country where is not that easy to get it done and books are very expensive. Even ebooks. I love the books by José Rodrigues dos Santos (portuguese author) and I'm always looking to find used ones to buy. The prices are just insane!
I'm not willing to give up, though. Maybe one day I'll walk into a bookstore to find my book on the shelves! :)
Good luck to all of you that share the same dream! :)
Sofia wrote: "Hey everyone!I've downloaded Scrivener and I've been working with it these last couple of days.
Ty was absolutely right, it's fantastic! A mobile version would be great too, that way we could sa..."
I'm so glad that it is working out for you. You are right about getting all the fine details of everything set in stone and easy to retrieve. I have chosen to do all that before I even start to write the story. I think that will make the whole process much faster since I will not have to do it on the fly.
Are you able to publish to say Amazon US or are you restricted? I just read an article about international publishing. http://www.unrulyguides.com/2013/12/k...
I'm about to throw my computer through my window... This thing is driving me crazy!!So, about publishing: as far as I can tell, I believe I'm not restricted, at least I was abble to enter the Kindle Direct Publishing... I didn't got further because it's asking me some stuff about tax information and I have to read this carefully.
Don't know if this means that I'm not restricted, but might be a start!
Being in the early stages of writing my first novel, I found this extremely helpful! Thanks Sebastian!
You're welcome. I'm glad I could help. Good luck!Sebastian :)
Sebastian wrote: "You're welcome. I'm glad I could help. Good luck!Sebastian :)"
Thank you :)
Hey guys, check out the article I wrote:
"What You Need to Know about Writing and Publishing Your First Novel"
Feel free to ask me any questions, or shoot me an email at sebastian@sebastiancoleauthor.com.
Happy Holidays!
Sebastian Cole, author of Sand Dollar: A Story of Undying Love
SebastianColeAuthor.com