Some of the features of self-publishing were discussed at
the Tooele Writer’s meeting Thursday evening, as well as the chapter blog,
membership to the League of Utah Writers, upcoming meetings and other
miscellaneous items.
“The writing world has changed,” chapter president Laura
Bastian said.
Bastian said when she started attending Tooele Writers there
was a negative stigma associated with self-publishing, and that stigma seems to
have faded over the past five years.
Here are some of the highlights from the meeting:
SELF-PUBLISHING
Thursday’s information on self-publishing focused on making
sure books are really ready before they’re published. Several people attested
to the importance of paying for professional edits, book covers and, when
necessary, other publishing skills like book formatting.
Laura Bastian introduced attendees to Susan Kaye Quinn,
author of Indie Author Survival Guide. One of the topics discussed in the book and
at the meeting was how self-publishers price books, including using $0.99 and
free books as loss-leaders.
Nicole
Grane, author of the Immortal Wounds series
and the Pinehurst series said she
places the first book in a genre or series for free, but only when she has
other books in the series ready to sell. This strategy has worked very well for
her, allowing her to make definite progress toward her financial goals.
She also said it’s important for authors to provide both
digital and hard copies of their books.
Her other advice: “Pay someone to edit your book,” she said.
“After they’re done, read it again.”
Nicole shared her notes on self-publishing with Create Space
and e-book formats. These notes will be posted here on the blog sometime this
week.
Some of the differences between self-publishing and
traditional publishing were discussed. Traditional publishing takes care of
things like book covers and formatting, while self-publishing allows authors to
change their book covers if they need to and otherwise maintain control of
their final products.
Robert Ott, author of Belle, said he joint
published. He pays for some of the services but as the book sells, he splits
income equally with his publisher.
“I have final say on what happens with the book,” he said.
The basic idea from this discussion was authors should think
things through before they publish a book.
“If you self-publish, do it smart,” Bastian said. “Do it
right. If you decide to go with a traditional publisher, make sure you know
what you’ve got in your contract.”
MEMBERSHIP TO THE LEAGUE OF UTAH WRITERS
Tooele Writers is a chapter of the League of Utah Writers. While anyone
is welcome to attend Tooele Writers meetings, attendees are encouraged to join
League of Utah Writers as well.
Yearly membership costs $25. Benefits include discounts on
League of Utah Writers conferences, help paying for guest speakers, and a
subscription to The Quill, the League
of Utah Writer’s quarterly magazine, which includes ‘chapter chatter’ sections
where authors can announce upcoming book launches and other news.
Tooele Writer members also reported receiving valuable
feedback on writings entered into League of Utah Writers writing contests.
CHAPTER BLOG
The most recent information for Tooele Writers is available
at the Tooele Writer’s group page on Facebook.
Contact Laura Bastian at lardobastian@gmail.com
if you’d like an invitation to join the group.
Meanwhile, starting in February, the blog will be updated at least
once a month with highlights from the monthly meetings. There may be additional
blog posts addressing writing-related topics. Links to the blog posts will be
posted on the Facebook group.
UPCOMING MEETINGS
Tooele Writers meets every third Thursday at 6:30 PM at the
Tooele City Library. Meetings for the next three months are currently planned
as follows:
March—Features of Scrivener and YWriter…including a drawing
for a free copy of Scrivener software!
April—Cooperatives (trading skills like formatting, editing,
and book cover creation)
May—Creating critique groups and finding beta readers
Future meetings may incorporate an author meet-and-greet
night and information on taxes for writers.
OTHER MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS
- Susan Kaye Quinn’s book Indie Author Survival Guide can be found here: http://www.amazon.com/Indie-Author-Survival-Guide-Susan/dp/1492972851/ref=la_B003TTJRXU_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1392956798&sr=1-5
- Fast release dates (one right after another in a series) seem to boost book sales.
- Laura Bastian’s book Eye on Orion will be available this coming Tuesday. She is hosting a virtual release party on Thursday, February 27 on Facebook.
- Resources for authors:
- Authors Think Tank: http://www.foreverwriters.com/
- I Write Network: http://www.iwritenetwork.com/
- The Passive Voice: http://www.thepassivevoice.com/
- If you have news for the blog or want to write a guest post on a particular topic, or if you want to have a topic addressed, please e-mail Gwen Bristol at gwenbristol@gmail.com.
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