Creativity is forever
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Creativity is forever
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Self-Publishing Process Information

“Writing allows me to create a world where I’m never lonely.”-JMD

This is what I like about writing. Surrounding myself with storylines, characters, conflict, overcoming struggles, or highlighting failure. And of course the twist and turns that make things enjoyable. Whatever the case may be writing a story allows me to create a whole new world each time.

Overview of the writing to publishing process

First things to consider is –

  • How do you wish to share your writing with others?
    • Just for yourself
    • Friends and neighbors
    • For readers that will pay for your work
  •  Next consider, Do you want to publish your work?
    • If yes, traditionally or self-publish? Remember if you choose self-publishing you will need professional editing.
  •  Until you make this decision let’s say you want to share your story with others by selling books or keeping a blog. If you go this route, you will, at some point, need to fine-tune your writing. How do you do this?

Things you can use to assist you in your writing -apps that can help you:

  • identify grammatical errors and writing issues. --Some of these apps are for free and for more expertise assistance you can upgrade and pay a premium.
  • Grammarly -basic for free and the upgraded version for min $75 per/year.  https://app.grammarly.com/
  • Hemingway Editor app- https://hemingwayapp.com/
  • *Join a private Facebook writing group- a list of a few
    • The Writers Forum
    • Alessandra Torre Ink
    • Creative Writing
  • Also google for research for accuracy

TIPS on the WRITING PROCESS

Outline your storylines and characters for accuracy and continuity of information

  • Dates
  • Ages
  • Repetition of storylines, dialog, etc. 

 Format your story as you want to sell your book size -

     Test your writing- After you have fine-tuned your story submit to:

    • friends,
    • post it somewhere for others to read it,
    • guest blog
    • magazine, paper, workshop, class

    When I have completed my story to the best of my creative and writing abilities, it’s ready for a professional editor. I contract with one who specializes in Copy and Line Editing. (Line editing focuses on the style of your writing, whereas copy editing focuses on the mechanics of your writing.)

    I  am providing you this short example thanks to self-publishingschool.com

     Don’t get overwhelmed by the following information and techniques used in editing.

    Miranda gazed out over the bustling; hustling city. She felt so excited by the constant movement of the people below her.

    •  A line editor would look at these two sentences and ask questions like “Is bustling, hustling redundant?” and “Should we switch the second sentence to active voice?”
    •  A copy editor‌ would look at those sentences and correct the misused semicolon. 

    Both line editors and copy editors approach work line by line. ----However, they are looking for two different ‌edits. Mine does both.

     The purpose of line editing is to make your ideas more concise and clear by re-examining and rewriting your sentences. 

    • What is the tone of this passage? Do the words I’ve chosen convey that tone?
    • Are there any extra words, redundancies, or needless information I can remove?
    • Do the words I’ve chosen help my reader understand my meaning or get in the way of their understanding?
    • Do I use language in a precise and clear way?

     During the copy-edit phase, keep an eye out for the following errors:

    • Language errors, including missing or misused punctuation, grammar errors, and misspelled words
    • Consistent hyphenation, fonts, and capitalization
    • Formatting and usage of numbers, acronyms
    • Adherence to a specific style guide 
    • Consistency in tense usage
    • Layout on the physical page, including line breaks, indents, headings, footers, titles, etc.

    COST $$$$ FOR THIS SERVICE- Editors can now charge $23 per 1000 words. From what I see mine performs copy and line editing. For this charge a 40,000 word book the cost would be $920 made in two payments. ** Do your homework. 

    BOOK COVER DESIGN

    I always use a professional cover designer now. The cost is very reasonable and I want a polished look.

    PUBLISHING PROCESS

    Now let’s say you have edited your book and it’s ready to be published. My experience is using KDP Self- publishing on Amazon

    What types of content can I publish through KDP?

    KDP allows you to publish eBooks (Kindle) and paperback books. However, KDP does not allow the creation of magazines, periodicals, calendars, or spiral bound books.

    Content types typically published using KDP include but are not limited to the following:

    • Novels
    • Book Series
    • Children's Books
    • Comics
    • Cookbooks
    • Journals
    • Poetry
    • Textbooks

    If you decide to go this route your book has to be formatted and uploaded into the KDP system. I did this for my workbooks and I found it very time consuming. So I found a formatter who not only formatted my story but she uploaded. It was not expensive and it saved me a lot of time and limited the possibilities for error.

     ***I found both my editor and my formatter on Facebook and my cover designer through my formatter. Remember it takes a little village to get out your book.

    Any questions please let me know. Use the form below or contact me at agingcreative@gmail.com