Category: Creativity

Creativity, ebook, self-publish, Writing

Why Should An Author Self-Publish?

                                  
That is a question that can have many answers, and I’m willing to bet that if you took a poll with authors, you would get varied opinions, ideas, and reasons why. And to me, that is the beauty of the question – each author, with their own creative minds and with their own creative ideas will have their own reasons why.  But before we get to that, the first question we have to ask ourselves is why do we write the first place? If yes me that question my answer will always be, because I Iove to write. Our love for writing propels us to use our creativeness, refine it, and release it to the world. We spend hours, days, months, and sometimes even years getting that story out of our head and ready for readers to enjoy. To do that, you have to get published – either electronically or in print. This leads back to the title of this post.

The answer lies within the prospects of you getting published by a one of the ‘Big 6’ publishing houses. (It may be the Big 5 by now, based on mergers and buy-outs.) If you are one of the few to get that big deal, then most of the things that involve the process of self-publishing will not concern you. The publisher will take care of all the behind-the-scene details. If you are not one of those few then the answer is . . . YES! But this post isn’t about traditional vs self-publishing.

Now that we got all of that out of the way, let’s focus on what most of us will face – then ins-and-outs of self-publishing. 

ALL DONE

Now that we are done with our novel, novella, or short-story, we need to refine it, edit it, and make it ready for the masses. The process of editing and having a second, third, and even a fourth draft is something for another post, but the editing process must be addressed seriously before moving on to the next step. Now once we have that done and we have our cover art done, we can start to see the light at the end of the tunnel. There are other things that are involved in the self-publishing process, and again, that is something for another article.

I want to go back to something I wrote earlier – We write because we love to do it. For me, that is the biggest truth in all of this. Believe me, I will take all the profits that my work produces, icing on the cake, if you will. But the feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction of setting a goal and completing it is the number one reason. Writing something that is yours gives you total control, and that control is one of the great advantages of going indie.

CONTROL

The times have changed and the best part of self-publishing is having control of everything about your work from start to finish. Most of the authors I know, and have corresponded with, prefer having a grasp on their projects and their future. While having control comes with its own financial costs, in the end, a self-published author will always receive more of a profit because of substantially lower commission rates. And yes, while we do write because we love to do it, once we put our product out into the public and it is up for sale, then their has to be some business-minded thinking involved. 

Having complete control that comes with self-publishing, is the biggest difference with being traditionally-published. You get to decide which way you want your story to go. You get to decide what cover art works best for you. Only the author of the story they tell, or book they write, can know what concept they want their book cover to reveal. In my own case, I have done cover art prior to writing and I have done them after the story was finished. Both have their advantages and both can guide you in your writing based on what your cover reveals. Another part of that control Is for you to decide on doing your cover art yourself or hiring a cover designer to get it just the way you want it. Sometimes it’s good to get someone else’s perspective and ideas. But again, you have the control!

Since there are so many distributors to make your book available, deciding on where, when, and setting the pricing points is entirely up to you. Publishing ebooks does not cost a thing, if you take the time and learn how to do it yourself. If not, with all the resources available, you can get your work formatted at a relatively low cost. 

If you decide to sale your book in print, once the file is in the proper format, usually PDF, you can have your book up for sale at no cost. This is possible because of POD, or print-on-demand. Basically, your book is a file sitting on a company’s server and when someone places an order to buy your book, it prints it, cover and all, and sends it out to the reader. The companies involved in this, (Createspace, Lulu, Lightning Source) take their cost for printing, paper, etc, then you get the residual. The best part of publishing your books these two ways is CONTROL. You choose the sale price, thus determining your profit percentage. Being able to have your book in paperback and it not cost a thing is almost too hard to believe, but it is very real and being done daily. 

ACCOMPLISHMENT

Doing it yourself, from start to finish, gives you an overwhelming sense of accomplishment – more so than being traditionally-published, in my opinion. I say that because it is a long road from the time you type or write your first word of your masterpiece to the fine-polished and finished product. At that point, only YOU truly know how much hard work you have put into it. The blood, sweat, and tears are only experienced by you. And no matter the sales or the reviews, good or bad, you will have done something many people have said they would do . . . finish writing a book! The sense of accomplishment in that can never be taken away from you. You gave birth to your idea and saw it to the end. 

TAKING RESPONSIBILITY 

Remember when you were a kid and you did something that would get you in trouble? Back then most of us would not take responsibility for our bad actions, and it was only until our parents ‘persuaded’ us into telling the truth. But taking responsibility for something as exciting as writing a book is easy because it should fill you with a sense of pride . But the difference here is that the words you have ‘penned’ are solely yours – your ideas, thoughts, and hard work. You were responsible for the finished product, and if you did it the self-published route, then it’s all your baby to claim and be proud of. 

THE JOURNEY

Speaking for myself and my travels down this self-publishing road, I am very happy with what I have accomplished. Make no mistake, writing is hard work, and if you add in the rest of what goes along with self-publishing, the work is even harder, but in the end, knowing you did it right and did it yourself will propel you to your next big project. The self-confidence that self-publishing brings is priceless. We can’t forget we have to do all of the little things to put out a good product and make it just as professional as a ‘Big 6’ production. 

So get out there and gather as much information as possible and use that to make your dream come true . . . and Self-Publish!

A. Lopez, Jr.

(artwork by Richard Krzemien)
 

Creativity, Uncategorized, Writing

Welcome To 2016

  
Happy New Year! I hope your holiday season went well and you parlayed that into a great start to the new year.

The end of 2015, the fun time of the year for me (October – December), brings the holiday season, football season, and cooler temps. And as usual, those months raced by and brought us here to the new year.

For me, the good news is that we still have a couple of more months of winter. Now, I know that’s not good news to everyone out there, but my reason is purely in the spirit of creativity. I find the Winter to be the best time of the year to write – and reading for that matter. If I’m not too distracted by the NFL season and playoffs, I usually get a lot accomplished.

Many projects are on the books, so to speak, and deadlines are on the calendar. But those things are for me in the solitary confines of the writing world. 

As for all of you, no matter where you are, covered in snow or basking in warmer temperatures, I just want to wish you all a great start to the new year and I hope you accomplish any and all the goals you have set!

Happy writing, reading, and creating!

ALJ

Creativity, Promoting, self-publish, Writing

Does Social Media Play A Role In Publishing?

Recently, I wrote an article in my ASK AJ column in the All Authors Magazine. You can find out more about the magazine here: All Authors Magazine

Kevin from South Carolina asks:

‘Not too long ago, I decided to submit my manuscript to a publisher.  The potential publisher sent me an email asking how comfortable I was with social media.  I’m familiar with Facebook but I don’t have a Twitter account nor do I particularly want one.  After I answered, I got a response from the potential publisher, citing they are heavily dependent on Twitter for their marketing arsenal.  Should I be willing to compromise in the hopes that I get in or should I withdraw my manuscript for further consideration and try another avenue?’

A great question, especially for anyone new to social media.



Congratulations

First of all, as I often say, congratulations on finishing your work! That is something that cannot be stated enough. It is, and always will be, an accomplishment. Everything after that is where we learn and muddle through the pitfalls and mine fields of promoting and publishing. And let’s face it, there is plenty to be learned, and unfortunately, trial and error are part of that process. 

Submitting your work to a publisher, no matter how big or small, is a big step. You are putting your work out for others to read, critique, and say, yes or no. Being prepared for their words and response is hard to do. And when it’s your first work, it’s new territory and everything, good or bad, seems to fly at us from all directions. But the bottom line is you are ready to get it published, and you have received a positive response from the publisher. 

Benefits of Social Media

In the question for this issue, Kevin was asked by the publisher if he was comfortable with social media. Social media is mainstream on the personal side of life. Each person is different, and what may work for one or many, may not work for others. Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Pinterest are just a few of the many ways to get the word out, so-to-speak. 

In the business world, social media is important as a marketing tool, and just about every publishing house has a Twitter account. They’ve done the research and made marketing plans based on the product they are selling…books. As the author, I feel it is a good idea to get familiar with twitter, the social media in question. Having an account and using as a business platform for your writing can help generate not only interest in your books, but more importantly, you!

The dilemma here is, should the author compromise and give into something he is unfamiliar and a bit uncomfortable with? – or something he might not want at all. Of course that decision, ultimately, will come down to what the author is willing to do. Jumping into something you aren’t familiar with – when all you hoped for was for a publisher to accept your work and publish it so you can get back to writing your next manuscript – can be a shock, or at the least, a strange turn of events. 

Choices

At the point the author is now, he is faced with making a decision – compromise and work with the publisher on their marketing schemes or withdraw and present the manuscript to other publishers in hopes that there are not any expectations of doing social media marketing in the agreement/contract. There is a third option, to indie-publish your book, but that’s a topic for another day and one I have blogged about in the past. 

From what I gather in the original question, the publisher is asking about the author using social media to market the potential work – potential, being the key word. I get the feeling that the publisher is indeed interested in the manuscript, and they are trying to gauge what the author is willing to do to promote the work. I almost get the sense that they are looking to see if the trio (the publisher, author, and manuscript) will make for a good working relationship. 

Patience

Being that this may be the very early stages of building a partnership between the author and publisher, and well before any negotiations take place, I would say to go along with any suggestions for now, as there is always time to pull away before you sign any agreement. 

I will also assume that you have an interest in the publisher or you may not have sent your manuscript there in the first place. At this stage, I would be patient and see where it leads, rather than withdrawing your work and possibly missing out on a potential opportunity. And in the meantime, you can always pitch your ‘script to other publishers or small presses. 

In this business of writing, it seems that just when you think you are done and ready to move forward, there is always a new, unexpected twist that keeps us from getting to  our next big novel. These twists are part of traditional and indie-publishing, with one of the differences being the freedom of choice you get going the indie route. Both roads have their own pros and cons, but on the traditional side, you have to play by their rules for the most part.

Moving Forward

In closing, instead of making the ‘social media’ subject a deal breaker, it could be worth trying to work out a compromise, or find some middle ground, to make both sides happy. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and keep the lines of communication open. Remember, if they are interested in publishing your manuscript, then you may have a position to negotiate key points in the agreement. But we also have to remember, that a publisher has a business model set for running their business. As we enter their world, as authors, we may have to find our comfort zone within and make it an great experience for our premier novel.

So I say, give it a go, while keeping all of your options open. Once you get comfortable with Twitter, I think you will find it an asset to your writing and marketing plan. Good Luck!

~ALJ~

(image courtesy of museumsandheritage.com)

Book Trailer, Books, Creativity, Interviews, Promoting, self-publish, Writing

All Authors Blog Blitz

Today I am taking part in the All Authors Blog Blitz put on by Y. Correa and the All Authors Magazine. (a very well put-togther magazine…you should have a look)

I am featuring Debbie Boswell on my blog today. She is the author of House of Mirrors

Meet Debbie…

Debbie Boswell has a B.S. in accounting and an Enrolled Agent license (E.A.).  She is also the owner/manager of Crafts by Grace, a cottage industry in which she makes candles, soap and designs T-shirts.  Debbie co-wrote and co-produced her first screenplay, OPEN/CLOSE, through the Brooklyn Young Filmmakers Center.  House of Mirrors is her second novel.  Debbie resides in Brooklyn, NY where she was born and raised.

Here is a little bit about her journey in coming up with her novel, followed by the book trailer…

The first step is always the hardest. 

I was at Grand Central, watching the lunchtime crowd and worrying about a schedule I had to prepare that afternoon.  I’d never done that particular one before and in the anal attentive world of public accounting, perfection wasn’t an option.  I got my head chewed off by a tax manager once for not having the staples aligned evenly on a tax return.  To this day, I can’t staple my income tax return without developing a nervous tic.

As I observed workers hurrying back and forth with their Styrofoam cups or grabbing that quick bite before dashing back to the office, it hit me:  I hate my job.  Co-workers sighing loudly and scratching themselves before the day begins, permanent scowls branded on their faces, the schmoozing, the backstabbing.  This lifestyle wasn’t for me.  I needed to make a change.

I always wanted to work for myself.  I assumed it would’ve been accounting-related, but deep down, my soul was crying out for me to write.  I was writing stories ever since I was a little girl.  I used to get this spark every time our class went to the library or whenever I had to write a story, had art class or rehearsed for the school play.  While commuting to work or during lunch, I was reading books and magazines on how to write a manuscript.  I fantasized about seeing my novels in bookstores, even better, having them made into film!  Oddly, that spark returned during these activities.  I knew then what I wanted and if I wanted to feel that zest for my job again or for life, I was going to have to be true to myself.  I wasn’t an executive.  I was a writer.

However, the pressure to conform overrode my desires.  Fear of going against social mores kept me trapped.  So, I remained where I was, losing pieces of myself overtime, enduring nervousness and emotional abuse in the cutthroat environment of corporate America where I also faced the possibility of fading into oblivion.

Yet something inside of me kept saying, You don’t have to accept this lifestyle.

But fear is powerful.  It prevented me from taking the necessary step to make a change…until I got a little push, more like a shove—from a totally unexpected and unrelated incident.  I was figuratively, pushed into a pool without any water.  Devastated, hurt and angry, I took stock of my life and finally found the courage I needed to start living for me.

Gradually, I walked away from the corporate life.  Was it scary?  A little.  Adjustment always is.  Even starting this website is intimidating.  Plus, there’s risk of criticism and rejection.  Then again, I was experiencing that in academia, then in the work world.  Why not go through it while doing what I love:  writing?

Traces of my misadventures in accounting are in my debut novel, Miriam’s Journey.  The turning point I reached after that shove provided some material for my current novel, House of Mirrors, which ironically, which would’ve been my first novel, but after writing the first hundred or so pages, I decided that I wasn’t ready to write this particular story yet, so I put it aside.

The pain that led me to take that first step into writing produced two novels, my own business, Crafts by Grace and a screenplay but that’s another story….

You can also find out more about Debbie here: CraftsByGrace
Book Trailer, Creativity, Horror, Nightmares, Paranormal, Promoting, Writing

Night Dreams – The Series Trailer

It’s nowhere near Halloween, but when you write horror, the time  never seems to move or shift out of that month or realm. The calender becomes a place only for projects and deadlines – and, well, a few birthdays along the way. Thus is the life of us all in the writing biz.

That out of the way … I wanted to share the trailer for the series I am currently writing: Night Dreams. The series (serialized fiction) follows a Dream Psychologist, Dr. Joseph Rickettes, who has no choice but to live out the nightmares of his patients in hopes of curing them of their demons. He is bound by the demons in their dreams, while he struggles to make sense of the nightmares that plague his own life.

Each episode is in the 20,000 word range and carries the story from his childhood, when he discovered his gift, to Joseph meeting his wife, Andrea, and beyond.

Enjoy!

Episode One – The Beginning focuses on how it all started for Joseph and how he came to possess his power, or curse, to delve into and live out, the nightmares of others.

Episode Two – Andrea’s Demon answers questions about Andrea’s nightmares and the demon that haunts her. Joseph’s gift is severely tested by the demon out to crossover into the real world and take his wife’s soul. Joseph battles his own demons as his wife, marriage, and life are all put in jeopardy.

Episode Three – Rising Darkness takes Andrea’s story further and into a darker, more evil place, and into a battle with something Joseph never could have imagined.

The complete series will have at least six episodes. Thanks for reading and watching!

~ALJ~

Creativity, self-publish, Writing

Why Should An Author Self-Publish?

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That is a question that can have many answers, and I’m willing to bet that if you took a poll with authors, you would get varied opinions, ideas, and reasons why. And to me, that is the beauty of the question – each author, with their own creative minds and with their own creative ideas will have their own reasons why.

But before we get to that, the first question we have to ask ourselves is why do we write in the first place? If you ask me that question my answer will always be, because I Iove to write. Our love for writing propels us to use our creativeness, refine it, and release it to the world. We spend hours, days, months, and sometimes even years getting that story out of our head and ready for readers to enjoy. To do that, you have to get published – either electronically or in print. This leads back to the title of this post.

The answer lies within the prospects of you getting published by a one of the ‘Big 6’ publishing houses. (It may be the Big 5 by now, based on mergers and buy-outs.) If you are one of the few to get that big deal, then most of the things that involve the process of self-publishing will not concern you. The publisher will take care of all the behind-the-scene details. If you are not one of those few then the answer is . . . YES! But this post isn’t about traditional vs self-publishing.

Now that we got all of that out of the way, let’s focus on what most of us will face – then ins-and-outs of self-publishing.

ALL DONE
Now that we are done with our novel, novella, or short-story, we need to refine it, edit it, and make it ready for the masses. The process of editing and having a second, third, and even a fourth draft is something for another post, but the editing process must be addressed seriously before moving on to the next step. Now once we have that done and we have our cover art done, we can start to see the light at the end of the tunnel. There are other things that are involved in the self-publishing process, and again, that is something for another article.

I want to go back to something I wrote earlier – We write because we love to do it. For me, that is the biggest truth in all of this. Believe me, I will take all the profits that my work produces, icing on the cake, if you will. But the feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction of setting a goal and completing it is the number one reason. Writing something that is yours gives you total control, and that control is one of the great advantages of going indie.

CONTROL
The times have changed and the best part of self-publishing is having control of everything about your work from start to finish. Most of the authors I know, and have corresponded with, prefer having a grasp on their projects and their future. While having control comes with its own financial costs, in the end, a self-published author will always receive more of a profit because of substantially lower commission rates. And yes, while we do write because we love to do it, once we put our product out into the public and it is up for sale, then there has to be some business-minded thinking involved.

Having complete control that comes with self-publishing, is the biggest difference in being traditionally-published. You get to decide which way you want your story to go. You get to decide what cover art works best for you. Only the author of the story they tell, or book they write, can know what concept they want their book cover to reveal. In my own case, I have done cover art prior to writing and I have done them after the story was finished. Both have their advantages and both can guide you in your writing based on what your cover reveals. Another part of that control Is for you to decide on doing your cover art yourself or hiring a cover designer to get it just the way you want it. Sometimes it’s good to get someone else’s perspective and ideas. But again, you have the control!

Since there are so many distributors to make your book available, deciding on where, when, and setting the pricing points, is entirely up to you. Publishing ebooks does not cost a thing, if you take the time and learn how to do it yourself. If not, with all the resources available, you can get your work formatted at a relatively low cost.

If you decide to sale your book in print, once the file is in the proper format, usually PDF, you can have your book up for sale at no cost. This is possible because of POD, or print-on-demand. Basically, your book is a file sitting on a company’s server and when someone places an order to buy your book, it prints it, cover and all, and it is sent out to the reader. The companies involved in this, (Createspace, Lulu, Lightning Source) take their cost for printing, paper, etc, then you get the residual. The best part of publishing your books these two ways is CONTROL. You choose the sale price, thus determining your profit percentage. Being able to have your book in paperback and it not cost a thing is almost too hard to believe, but it is very real and being done daily.

ACCOMPLISHMENT
Doing it yourself, from start to finish, gives you an overwhelming sense of accomplishment – more so than being traditionally-published, in my opinion. I say that because it is a long road from the time you type or write your first word of your masterpiece to the fine-polished and finished product. At that point, only YOU truly know how much hard work you have put into it. The blood, sweat, and tears are only experienced by you. And no matter the sales or the reviews, good or bad, you will have done something many people have said they would do . . . finish writing a book! The sense of accomplishment in that can never be taken away from you. You gave birth to your idea and saw it to the end.

TAKING RESPONSIBILITY
Remember when you were a kid and you did something that would get you in trouble? Back then most of us would not take responsibility for our bad actions, and it was only until our parents ‘persuaded’ us into telling the truth. But taking responsibility for something as exciting as writing a book is easy because it should fill you with a sense of pride . The difference here is that the words you have ‘penned’ are solely yours – your ideas, thoughts, and hard work. You are responsible for the finished product, and if you did it the self-published route, then it’s all your baby to claim and be proud of.

THE JOURNEY
Speaking for myself and my travels down this self-publishing road, I am very happy with what I have accomplished. Make no mistake, writing is hard work, and if you add in the rest of what goes along with self-publishing, the work is even harder, but in the end, knowing you did it right and did it yourself will propel you to your next big project. The self-confidence that self-publishing brings is priceless. We can’t forget we have to do all of the little things to put out a good product and make it just as professional as a ‘Big 6’ production.

So get out there and gather as much information as possible and use that to make your dream come true . . . and Self-Publish!

ALJ

Creativity, Writing

Creating A Story

The Building Blocks

Creativity, be it for a writer, musician, artist, or anyone who takes something from scratch and completes a work that will be seen or heard by the masses, is something special for the one giving birth to their idea. This creates two separate points of view – the producer’s and then the reader’s, listener’s and viewer’s. King, Beethoven and Van Gogh all started from scratch, somewhere.
This being an author’s blog, it’s only appropriate that we talk about how we create our stories. I get a lot of inspiration visually, from things I see out in the world – most by chance or from stumbling across something unusual. I have found that looking at pictures, or still images, as a photographer would call them, can find its own place in my imagination.
Many of the places in my stories are real places that I have visited or grew up around and each have their own story waiting to be written. Of course, our minds are the most creative thing we have, so if we don’t use visuals or places to build our stories, we always can start from scratch and still make our masterpiece.

Filling in the Blanks

Now that we have our ideas ready to go, it’s time to put them down on paper (an old saying that’s hard to break) and complete that story. We have the building-blocks and foundation, but now we must fill in the in-betweens. This is where our creativity and imagination must run wild in that first draft. We must be relentless in our process of storytelling and pound away at that keyboard. We must not stymie our mind’s creative process with editing while in the heat of the battle – just let it flow and fill in the blanks. I don’t mean this in a reckless fashion, but we all know that great feeling when all the neurons are firing and the writing comes almost effortlessly. The blanks are filled and original inspiration starts to become a complete story.

The Rest of the Story

And yes, of course, the editing will come, and many of the words we have pounded out will be rearranged, reworded, or even disappear altogether. But this short entry is about how we create our stories and start to build them into the next Bestseller! This is only the start of the complete process that takes hard work, determination, and sometimes sheer will, but every story must start somewhere with some idea, no matter where it was conceived and born.

You have to absolutely love it to write it, and then finish the entire process. Sometimes getting started is the hardest part, but I promise you that once you get there, you will have half of the battle won.

Where do you find your inspiration for creating your masterpiece?

Happy creative writing,

~ALJ~

(image via empowernetwork.com)