editing

Ben Baker

/ Kris Wampler

Ben Baker is a prolific writer who has learned a few tricks throughout his career. He explains how authors can find and exploit their niche.

1. Tell me briefly about your latest book – what is it about and what motivated you to write it?

My latest published book is A Dog Named Nekkid. The title comes from one of the columns in the book. Imagine naming a dog Nekkid. Think of the fun. Put the dog outside. Company comes over. You get tired of them. “I gotta go outside and get Nekkid. Y’all wanna come?” So many variations on a theme.

That also marked my debut as a freehand cartoonist. I did editorial toons in college for the university newspaper, but drew those on a Macintosh. My daughter also drew some of the toons.

I have several others in the works: a science fiction/fantasy novel, memoirs, and a how-to book on dealing with an estate when you are the executor.

2. How have your sales been?

Poor. This is my fault. While I am good at sales and marketing, I do not enjoy it. Good? Yes. I have set new positive sales records for the places I worked in sales. I just do not like it. If I invested into the marketing, my sales would be excellent. I am somewhat like Nikola Tesla in that regard: lemme work and let someone else handle the business end.

This is why I love writing for brokerage sites. They handle the maths (maths is evil; the plural is correct), the marketing and the business. I write. I did have one client steal my stuff and leave a horrible review. I reported it with evidence of the theft and got paid. The client got banned. Dunno if the review is still up, nor do I care.

3. You’ve chosen self-publishing. How have you liked it so far? Talk about some of the positives and negatives you’ve encountered.

Self-publishing is great for me. I am also a graphic artist. Each week I produce a newspaper and a few times a year I produce a slick magazine. Layout and design for books is something I can do in my sleep. I’ve done books for several other people who did not have the know-how to design and format. I’ve done so many, including ghost writing, that I wrote a contract to spell out what I will do and the prices.

Because I can do layout and design, I control every step of the process. I pick the font, size, page size, count and quality. I keep all the rights. I set the price. I keep all the profits. My only out-of-pocket expense is printing the books I buy to resell.

Self-publishing is not for everyone because so many people think they have a great book (they do not) and it will just fly off the print-on-demand press to be a bestseller (it won’t). The last report of the POD industry I read said the average POD book sells fewer than two copies.

Marketing is what sells books. If you can’t get your butt up, moving and selling books everywhere and every chance you get, including forcing some chances, you will not make money. Continue reading →

K.M. Weiland

/ Kris Wampler / 2 Comments

K.M. Weiland lives in make-believe worlds, talks to imaginary friends, and survives primarily on chocolate truffles and espresso. She is the award-winning and internationally-published author of Outlining Your Novel, Structuring Your Novel, and Creating Character Arcs. She writes historical and speculative fiction and mentors authors on her award-winning website Helping Writers Become Authors.

K.M. just released her latest book on craft, Writing Your Story’s Theme. Here she discusses the book and the advice she has for new writers working to perfect their skills.

1. Talk a little about Writing Your Story’s Theme. What motivated you to write it and what do you hope authors will gain from it?

In contemplating what writing-craft book I wanted to publish next, I felt like theme was the obvious expansion and next step from the books I’ve already shared on story structure and character arcs. Theme is so inherent in both these subjects and is, in fact, actualized through a proper use of both, and yet it isn’t often drawn to the forefront and discussed in a concrete and practicable way.

2. Theme is the very essence of any story, yet you believe authors too often view it as more of an afterthought. Why do you think this is so?

Foundationally, I believe it is because theme is inherently such an abstract concept. As a result, we have something of a tradition in which writing instructors and masters  guide us to avoid consciously implementing theme because they don’t have a clear understanding of how theme emerges within stories. It seems a very nebulous, almost numinous, process. And it is. But story theory has given us clear approaches to both story structure and character arc—and within this process of harmonizing plot and character, we can see how theme itself emerges in a holistic and resonant way. It remains numinous, but becomes less nebulous.

3. You’ve created a number of guides to help authors improve their writing. Where does Writing Your Story’s Theme fit in among the others?

As I said, I feel like it is a natural sequel to the previous guides. I hope it stands alone, but because it builds upon the principles and terms I discuss in Structuring Your Novel and especially Creating Character Arcs, it would be my recommendation to start with those books. They lead right into Writing Your Story’s Theme. (And if you’re only going to read one of the books, I recommend Creating Character Arcs. Once you’re creating solid character arcs, then you’re almost certainly going to be creating solid story structure and theme as well.) Continue reading →

Renee Marski

/ Kris Wampler

Renee Marski enjoys the control that self-publishing allows authors. Here she explains the importance of making sure your work is thoroughly edited.

1. Tell me briefly about your latest book – what is it about and what motivated you to write it?

My most recent book is book three in my fantasy series. This book follows Andy, one of the team members of my group of hunters. They are descended from the original fairytale characters, trained to hunt the monsters that plague our world. Andy has some issues he has to work through, after suffering a loss in book two. Andy and the team have to complete their third trial and stick together.

2. How have your sales been?

Sales have been up and down. I took a month off to just focus on me and so without promoting anything I didn’t really sell anything. But when I do promote, I get some good results.

3. You’ve chosen self-publishing. How have you liked it so far? Talk about some of the positives and negatives you’ve encountered.

I love self-publishing. I like the control I have, I can publish when I want, there are no deadlines except for the ones I give myself. But at the same time, being self-published means I have to do all the marketing myself and that is so hard to do. Especially when you’re just starting out and don’t know what you’re doing. Continue reading →

Jenna Whittaker

/ Kris Wampler

13096190_1191304047568882_1555622748994703516_nAustralian author Jenna Whittaker stays busy but manages to make time for her writing.  In this interview she explains what self-published authors have to do to make their work a success.

1. Tell me briefly about your latest book – what is it about and what motivated you to write it?

My latest book is The Leavers. It’s a fantasy novel set in a marshland, bordered by an invisible barrier that nearly no one dares to cross. Novia, the main character, wakes up at the edge of it, and finds a Leaver – one of the ones who do cross the barrier, and never, until now, return. With his return comes desolation of the marshlands, the arrival of the beings from Beyond, and what you think is good and bad is turned on its head.

2. How have your sales been?

I’ve not gotten too much time for promotion lately; working on my current WIP, my part time job, and starting up my own pet sitting business! I get a few sales per month and I’m happy with that; I love every review that comes in!

3. You’ve gone the self-publishing route. Have you sought an agent or any work with traditional publishers? If not, why not? If so, what has been your experience?

I decided not to go the traditional publishing route.  I’m not sure why; mostly because of my impatience to have my book released, I think! My mother is a traditional/e-book publisher, so I made sure to have a properly formatted/edited novel ready for publication, based on what I’ve seen of her requirements and some of the more questionable submissions!

Self publishing is great, but only if you know what you’re doing or willing to put in the effort to learn. It’s vital to get a professional book cover, proper editing, and work on promotion constantly.

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Ethan Jones

/ Kris Wampler

Ethan Jones took some time away from his busy writing schedule to discuss his action-adventure series and why he chose the indie writing path.  Learn why book giveaways work for him and why indie authors have to invest so much of their own time and effort to make their projects a success.

1. Give me the “elevator pitch” for your book in five to ten sentences.

Arctic Wargame is the first book in Justin Hall series.  Justin has been demoted because of a botched rescue operation in Libya, which was not his fault.  Now he’s a desk jockey.  Eager to return to field work, he volunteers for a reconnaissance mission, when two foreign icebreakers appear in Canadian Arctic waters.  His team discovers a weapons stash, along with a plan that threatens Canada’s security.  At the same time, the team falls under attack by one of their own and is stranded helpless in the Arctic.  It is now a race against time for Justin and his team to save themselves and their country.

2. Why did you become an indie writer?

I shopped my two novels, Arctic Wargame and Tripoli’s Target to agents and publishers over the course of 2009-2011.  I received some great feedback.  A few agents asked for a partial manuscript and two or three for a full.  But no one was willing to make an offer or sign a contract.  In the meantime, I kept writing.

I had not considered self-publishing because it seemed like a lot of work and I had truly hoped an agency or a publisher would pick up my works.  Upon the suggestion of a good friend, I dusted off my first novel, Arctic Wargame.  I found three great beta readers, all published writers, and we took a new stab at my gibberish.  Then I worked with two great editors and proofreaders, to create the best possible work.  After formatting it professionally, Arctic Wargame finally saw the light of publishing through Amazon.

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Diana Nixon

/ Kris Wampler

Belarusian author Diana Nixon has realized numerous benefits with self-publishing and has begun her own fantasy book series.  Learn more about the sites she uses to promote her work and the one thing any author needs to ensure quality writing.

1. Give me the “elevator pitch” for your book in five to ten sentences.

The name of the book is Love lines.  It’s the first book of a fantasy series under the same title.  It shows the inner world of supernatural beings, their talents and powers.  Love lines is a story about beautiful love and true friendship. It’s a book for all ages with some humor and complicated relationship.

2. Have you been traditionally published?  Why or why not?

I’m a self-published author and I’ve never published my books traditionally.  Before publishing my first book I read a lot of blogs discussing the advantages and the disadvantages of self-publishing.  The control over the process was the main thing that made me choose self-publishing.  I can create covers I like, I don’t have to make changes about the book which I wouldn’t like, and I can choose marketing techniques I’m sure will be successful.  And finally, I want to be sure I have done everything possible and maybe even impossible to promote and sell my book, as sometimes the authors are not satisfied with the same work most publisher do.  I know how I want things to be done and I’m sure no one else can do them better than I do.

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September Gray

/ Kris Wampler / 1 Comment

September Gray is the author of Chasing Dolphins, a story she was inspired to self-publish when the traditional process took too much time.  In this interview she explains why she thinks indie authors should support one another and discusses the importance of good editing.

1. Pretend for a moment I’m a reader looking for my next book.  Pitch me your book in five to ten sentences.

Here is an excerpt from a customer review on Amazon.  This reader sums it up as well as I could: “I liked this.  It’s not often you have the (pleasure?) of finding a readable main character who is a great deal less than perfect.  Charlene comes across as flawed, battered by life, but believable.  Her background has made her needy, malleable, and low on self-worth.  She drinks too much, smokes too much, isn’t much of a mum, picks up hordes of unsuitable men, sleeps around, etc., but is nevertheless likeable.”

2. What motivated you to become an indie writer?

I’ve had a few short stories published in magazines.  I also have friends who have been traditionally published and I watched them spend literally years mailing out query letters before they finally made a sale.  The last straw for me came when I heard from an editor who claimed to love the story I’d sent her.  Three months later she sent me a rejection slip stating she couldn’t find a hook for the story, but would love to see more of my work.  I’m not always a patient person, so I decided to take matters into my own hands.

3. How have you liked self-publishing so far?

I just want to get my stories out there before readers.  It doesn’t matter to me how I do it.  I think a lot of writers are divided right now: go indie or go traditional?  For me, it isn’t one or the other.  If  a publishing house offered me a decent contract I’d consider it.  I’m just not willing to put my writing career on hold until that happens.

4. Tell me about the marketing techniques you’ve used to sell your books.  Which ones have been the most successful?

I enjoy being active on Goodreads and Twitter.  I promote others as much as possible.  If you are helpful to others, you are going to get noticed faster than if you come off as self-serving.  I’ve had other writers give me back links or a mention on their blogs as a thank you for doing the same for them.  This doesn’t have to be a competitive business.  It works best when we are all scratching each other’s backs.  On the other hand, I don’t promote anyone’s work unless I believe in it.

5. If you could do one thing differently in publishing your books, what would it be?

I would have someone other than myself do the editing.  It’s hard to be objective about your own work.  No matter how hard you try to catch every typo, you are likely going to miss something.  Formatting is a nightmare for me, so fixing those mistakes once they’re published can be a real problem.

6. If you could market your brand – not just one particular book, but your overall brand of writing – in one sentence, what would it be?

I write about somewhat disturbing, yet sympathetic, characters with a dark sense of humor.

7. How can readers learn more about your books?

Check out my Amazon author’s page here.

Robert Szeles

/ Kris Wampler / 1 Comment

Robert Szeles wears many hats, including music producer, graphic designer – and, of course, author.  Robert discusses the hard work that goes into self-publishing and offers bountiful advice for the new writer just starting out.

1. Pretend for a moment I’m a reader looking for my next book.  Pitch me your book in five to ten sentences.

When a monogamous guy and a polyamorous gal are brought together by two of the least respected gods of Los Angeles, Love and Romance, they find themselves on the bumpy five-lane freeway to love, contending with a vengeful ex-girlfriend, a dominatrix boss, an irresistible TV star, an egomaniacal TV producer, Hollywood backstabbing, and the greatest obstacles of all: themselves!  A sexy romantic comedy set in Los Angeles, where even gods are only as good as their last gig.

2. What motivated you to become an indie writer?

The state of the publishing industry is in tumult and I thought I had a better chance at publishing myself.  Then if I have some success, I can always approach the major industry later with a successful track record, if that seems worth doing.

3. Have you been traditionally published?  Why or why not?

I have had a couple short stories published.  I haven’t pursued traditional publishing beyond that for the above reasons.

4. How have you liked self-publishing so far?

Liked?  It’s hard.  I imagine any kind of publishing is hard.  There are things that are wonderful, like the freedom and creative control, and there are things that are terrible, like the long work hours, lack of budget and lack of support from a company and its resources.  I can’t say I’ve liked it.  I like being a writer and author.  The publishing part is necessary if I want to be read, which I do.  But some of it is fun, like creating the book covers, which I do myself because I’m a professional graphic designer.  And my book trailer turned out fabulously, but it was two months of purgatory.

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Lorraine Fico-White, editor

/ Kris Wampler / 6 Comments

I’ve personally known Lorraine Fico-White for a while now, and serve with her on the board of directors of the Charlotte Writers’ Club.  A professional editor, she discusses the role editors play in the writing process and how indies can make their books the best they can be.

1. Tell me about the editing services you provide.

I am a certified editor providing editing and proofreading services to authors.  Authors contact me before they self-publish or send out query letters.  I provide a free sample edit of the author’s work, evaluating the level of editing required and identifying ways to improve the manuscript’s marketability.  I also assist authors in developing personal bios and summaries for the book cover, creating discussion questions, and critiquing query letters and synopses.

2. What’s the difference between editing and proofreading?

Proofreading identifies grammar, punctuation, spelling, and typographical errors as well as formatting inconsistencies.  Basic copyediting includes proofreading in addition to ensuring content continuity, correct and effective word usage, and clarity of concepts.

Heavier editing includes basic copyediting tasks plus analyzing character and plot development, narrative flow, shifts in point of view, and organizational structure.

3. What role should the editor play in the writing process?

An editor assists the writer in making the book the best it can possibly be.  A great working relationship between an author and editor is critical to the success of a book.  A good editor will not change a writer’s voice, style or story. Instead, the editor offers a fresh, experienced perspective and respects the author’s work.  All edits must be approved by the author.

4. For each editing project you take on, what is your overriding goal?  In other words, what do you have in mind each time you look at a new manuscript or other writing?

My goal is to help authors achieve their goals.  Whenever I review a manuscript, I am always looking for ways to improve its marketability.  Errors and inconsistencies distract a reader, and the book could lose credibility.  If a reader loses interest, he/she will not recommend the book to friends and will not purchase subsequent books by the same author.

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Stuart Carruthers

/ Kris Wampler

Stuart Carruthers, author of As the Crow Dies, had two very good reasons for skipping the traditional publishing route: speed and creative freedom.  He explains why reviews are important and why you should create a buzz around your book before it’s released.

1. Pretend for a moment I’m a reader looking for my next book.  Pitch me your book in five to ten sentences.

A high speed, action packed novella set in China.  Hong Kong resident and journalist Harry Patterson is sent to investigate a mundane story about a new CEO at a technology company.  But when there’s a murder and the secret service are involved, Harry’s world gets turned upside down and it leads him to discover more about the underbelly of China than he ever knew.

2. What motivated you to become an indie writer?

Fear of rejection!  But seriously I think it’s a sure fire way to get your book out to the public in the quickest time.

3. Have you been traditionally published?  Why or why not?

No.  I opted not to spend my time touting the book to agents for a couple of reasons: (i) speed; it takes a long time to get an agent and then if you get lucky, sell it to a publisher who then takes a year to get it to market (ii) I have more creative freedom; if the book doesn’t sell, I can revise the description and the content to push things in a different direction.

4. How have you liked self-publishing so far?

It’s early days, I only published the book at the end of January, so I haven’t really come to grips with marketing it or myself.

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