The Indie Author's Guide to: Building a Great Book

Happy Thursday, good people of the blogosphere! I was gonna write another review today, but I didn't get finished with the book I was reading. Since I never half-a$$ anything, I refuse to review before I'm done. Sorry! So, instead, I'm gonna talk about one of my books that's an asset for Indie authors. Why? Well, I see a ton of questions popping up all over the place about self-publishing. The Indie Author's Guide to: Building a Great Book has the answers you're looking for. Let's get going, shall we?

First, about the book:
Title: The Indie Author's Guide to: Building a Great Book
Author: Jo Michaels
Genre: Non-Fiction How-To
Length: 54 Printed pages
Links: Amazon $2.99 Smashwords $2.99 B&N $2.99

Description:
Indie author? Banging your head on your desk? You need The Indie Author's Guide to: Building a Great Book. Not just for e-books. This guide contains helpful tips and tricks to make your book look like it came from a major publisher. Guided sections walk you through how to format your book for all platforms, how to create a dynamite cover, how to brand yourself as an author, and how to build a perfect book for printing. Indie authors, let's give the big houses a real run for their money!


I'm sure you're all wondering why I wrote this book. Well, it's because, like most Indie authors, I struggled to learn all I needed to know in order to self publish. I thought: Why not help others since I've been through a lot of this stuff and save them the headache?

It's not just about building books. It's about building your brand, your e-book, and your print book.

Why is it so short? Because it's also meant to be a pocket reference. Something that won't take up a ton of space in your bag or purse. A book you can carry with you everywhere. I priced it low because Indie authors just starting out don't usually have a ton of money to play with.

But in a book that short, what can you possibly get out of it?

To tell you the truth, I cut out all the fluff. It's very straight to the point. Here's a ToC for you to look over:

Section One – Branding Yourself

• Choosing an Identity
• Creating a Logo (or having one created for you)
• Color Scheme Dos and Don’ts
• Consistency is Queen – Because Kings are controlled by Queens!

Section Two – Formatting Your Manuscript

• Dos and Don’ts when Writing Your Book
• Quick Tips for Better Legibility
• Building Your Save System
• Different Formats for Different Platforms

Section Three – Building a Digital Cover

• Size IS Important!
• Images
• Font Choices – Why does it Matter?
• Using Layers

Section Four – Final Checks

• Uploading and Proofing

Section Five – Business Considerations

• Choosing your distributor(s)
• Places to Sell and Market Your Book

Section Six – If Your Book is a Print Version

• Your Book’s Guts
• Orphans and Widows
• Pesky Page Numbers
• Running Headers
• Cover Considerations
• Explaining Bleed and Safety
• Conversion to CMYK for print
• Math Involved

Why do I feel I can write such a book with this kind of information?

Here's the forward from the book:
Before we begin, let me tell you the basic things you will need to format your book by these guidelines. If you have another program you’re more familiar with, use that. This book is meant to be a guide only.

I reference Adobe Photoshop for building covers in The Indie Author’s Guide to: Building a Great Book. If you use Gimp or some other image manipulation software and know where the panels I discuss in this book are, use your program.

I reference Microsoft Word 2007 for formatting interiors in The Indie Author’s Guide to Building a Great Book. If you know how to do the things outlined in this book in another program and prefer it, use yours.
In most of this book, I’m assuming you have a basic working knowledge of your chosen program and are familiar with tabs and menus.

I’m passing on knowledge that will help your book appear more professional in the mass market. Period.
My expertise lies in the field of Graphic Design and a lot of what you’ll find here imparts knowledge I learned during my studies and things I have discovered on my own while publishing my books. I spent a year as a Graphic Design tutor and was chosen amongst the other graduates in my final year to design the commencement cover (they loved it so much they used it again the following year).

I’ve listened to common complaints people have about self-published books and tried to address those areas here as well so we all look like we went to design school and have worked at a big publishing house our whole lives (or at the very least, that we can play with the big boys – and do it well).

Section six is the longest section because consideration of a print version of your book requires a lot of work. Follow me once and keep me around for a quick reference guide.

You may ask me additional questions via Twitter @WriteJoMichaels if you feel compelled to do so.
If you indulge in banging your head on the desk or tearing out your hair while reading this book (the very thing I’m trying to help you avoid – bald authors with red foreheads make us all look nuts), I take no responsibility. Enter at your own risk and enjoy!

As a funny, I also created an awesome mousepad over on Zazzle that screams to the world how this book saved you. check it out: TIAG Mousepad.

I hope this helps some of you achieve your dreams!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Rough Drafts to Completed MS - 10 Step List

Happy Tuesday, good people of the blogosphere! Today, I'd like to talk about rough drafts and how many steps there are between that and a completed book. I'm elbow-deep in Melody and nearly finished with the last chapter. But that's my rough draft. So, how long will it be until the book is finished? That all depends on how busy my editor is when I'm done with my first two rounds of edits. Here's what goes into polishing up that rough draft:

Step one: Read for content and slash/add.
This is where I re-read all the books in the series and make sure things are matching up the way they should be. Yes, I have copious notes about facts, dates, events, and visions. But I still goof up now and then, as we all do. I just have to make sure those oopsies don't make it into print. I also cut scenes, add scenes, and re-write scenes.

Step two: Check for tension.
I read each chapter and grade it on a tension scale of 1-5. If it's ho-hum or boring, I add and cut until it has the punch I'm looking for.

Step three: Grammar/Spelling/Punctuation checking.
This is where I dissect every sentence and make sure there are no dropped words, errant commas, misspellings, or pronoun confusions. I also check each sentence and paragraph for repeated words; changing them when necessary.

Step four: He said, she said.
While this is okay to use now and then, many of them can be changed to action tags to move the story along, rather than letting it all go stoic and be bland on the page by two people just gabbing at one another.

Step five: Off to the editor.
This is when I send my work over to my editor. She goes through steps 2-4 and tells me if I missed something important or used the wrong word.

Step six: Application of suggestions.
I put her suggestions and changes to good use.

Step seven: Resting period/cover design.
I let the MS sit for a week while I design the cover, then proofread.

Step eight: Off to the proofreader.
My proofreader catches the little things (because that's what she's focused on).

Step nine: Formatting.
This is where I format the book for print and prepare it for digital distribution across all channels. I don't want to have to mess with formatting it ever again.

Step ten: Publication.
I upload and hit the publish button.

A lot goes into any novel before it's put out there for public consumption. If you're skipping one of these steps, I have to ask why. Are your reviewers commenting about it?

How many steps do you take?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Uncovered Books

Happy Monday, good people of the blogosphere! Today, I'd like to tell you about a cool new service for indie authors. Strap in and take a little journey with me.

This service is a place you can sell your books. It's called Uncovered Books. They're going to sell via iPad and iPhone first, but have plans to expand to other platforms soon. You can check out the FAQ on their website.

Why is this exciting news? Well, they're offering a 50% royalty payment on every sale made. That's right, fifty percent. And you can price your book any way you want except free.

They ask some strange questions about your novel but promise that when readers sign up, the ideal person will be guided to your book. Why not, right?

Their intended launch date is Spring of 2013. This is a chance for you to get in on the ground floor of something new. Seems exciting!

Caveats:

• You need to have an epub file of your book to upload.
• They aren't taking non-fiction at this time.
• No payments until you reach $40 in sales.
• Payments, at this time, are only via paper check mailed to the address you specify.

I think it's an awesome idea and I hope this company goes boom! and explodes with growth. You can help!

What are you waiting for? Go sign up!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo