Kootenai River in NW Montana, near Canadian Border

Kootenai River in NW Montana, near Canadian Border
photo by Gene Tunick of Eureka, Montana

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Tip O'Day #286 - A Tough Road for Indies

Tom Isbell, author of Southern Cross, on Indie Success.

Independent authors are caught in a vicious circle. Manuscript editing and cover design services cost money. If you have investigated using professional services, you know what I’m talking about. Considering the average author is lucky to sell over 300 printed books, it doesn’t take long to expend way more on publishing than can be netted by sales. There are notable exceptions and maybe you know one, but tales of success should be prefaced with: “These results are not typical.”

So what can the not-so-rich, independent authors do to ensure their manuscripts are the best they can be? Seek out and join a local author critique group of like-minded writers, hopefully with some successfully published authors. Your friends and relatives may read your manuscript, but they will never tell you that it sucks. The sucky part has to come from other people. Remember constructive criticism is the key. Nothing is personal. Good editing is not just grammar and punctuation, but also evaluating execution – point of view consistency, syntax, poor plot, and implausibility.

Tom will be back in a few days with tips on book covers. In the meantime, check him out at his website or Facebook.

4 comments:

  1. Oh! really quite informative post about independent author and its writings. Thanks a ton.

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  2. I think making a budget for costs and deciding which publisher will actually publish your book makes a huge difference, too. If you're confident with your decision, then critiques and editing of your manuscript is the only worry you really have. It's important to find an affordable publisher, and one that helps you achieve the highest quality book possible for your genre. I actually bought books in my genre from a variety of POD publishers, and then emailed the author to find out if they were satisfied with their experiences and their books. Some books looked really awful, by the way. I also checked P&E (Predators & Editors), and googled "complaints" and "scam" on every publisher that I considered. Once my decision was made, I could relax...well, maybe not relax; at least I could focus on the manuscript, knowing it would eventually land in expert hands. I've published two books now by a POD, and am very proud of them, especially since the covers, which are designed by a Disney artist, came out beautifully. But that's another story!

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  3. Smart social media marketing does not cost an arm and a leg.

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  4. Does some of the issues really lie in the authors name? If it is catchy, readers might look at it. It is important to do your research, writing is the easy part compared to selling it to the public and knowing the ends and out of marketing. You have to be willing to place 100% of your energy and self into your books even if you get a big name publisher or agent to take your book or books.

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