I 've read several blogs with people telling their story of how they started out. I really don't think my story is nearly as intriguing as theirs, but to my surprise I guess I do have some information that at least a few people wanted.
I've debated writing this blog. I don't have the extensive background in writing that most of the people I follow, nor the years of experience. However, as of recently I have met several people who are on the same struggling journey that I am traveling. They've written a book or know someone who has, but they (or their friend) don't know what to do next. The fact that I've only published one book so far is irrelevant, they wanted to know what I knew. So I tell them what I had learned, and watch the fire ignite in their eyes as they can now see the possibility of getting their book published is so tangible. Well, that was inspiration enough for me. I can write this blog today, and even if most find it boring, some, who are just as confused as I was, will stumble upon it, allowing them to find the help they are looking for.
When I looked into how to publish a book everything I found gave the same advise. Write a great story (Check, did that), revise and edit (Check, did that), revise and edit again and again and again and....(Check, did that too). Find a publisher (Um... okay). The directions I found were as follows: Find publisher names. I went to the book store and looked for publishers who published books of the same genre (or what I thought was my genre), wrote the names down, went home, and started researching how to get my manuscript to them. Each company said I needed a literary agent. I said, "A what?" (I quickly learned that I needed to find someone who had ins to these publishers). Of course, my next question was, "How do I find one?" Lord knows that the scam artists feed on people with dreams.
I hit a wall. I knew no one who new the answer to that question. Most people would ask my first question. (That at least made me feel better.) I had only found one place that would take a manuscript from me. And of course there was a catch. I could not send my manuscript anywhere else until I heard from them (about 4 months). Okay, control what?! Needless to say, I became very discouraged.
Sometimes venting to your friends works in your favor (well it did for me). A couple of my friends began talking to me about epublishing, and they continued to talk about ebooks just about every time they saw me. I hadn't thought about epublishing, I knew nothing about it, and I was very skeptical. Then one of my friends sent me an article about Amanda Hockings.(Click here for the article) It was a Godsend, the inspiration to know that it was possible. She was writing because she loved it, same as me. More importantly, she was someone who could help guide me to answers, which re-energized my belief in my dream. Just knowing that there was a market that would allow for a nobody like me to take a chance and publish a great story, was a rush!
I of course looked to see if she had a page on Facebook, which in turn, led me to her blog. I was in total awe and a bit intimidated. She is an amazing writer. I was instantly drawn in. She opened doors that I hadn't even thought of. And instead of feeling discouraged at all she had accomplished, I was filled with excitement. I read through her advise and followed the links that led me to more information that I was now very hungry for. I knew research was important, but I had been looking in all the wrong places. Finally, a window had been opened.
If your struggling with why epublish, here are a couple of links that I loved: Amanda Hockings on Indie vs. Traditional. I would also highly recommend checking out Joe Konrath's blog A Newbies Guide To Publishing. His site is stock full of useful information. His recent blog for December 7, 2011 is awesome, full of great defense for epublishing, and entertaining (it might just be me though, but I like his blog for that reason). He is a strong advocate for the Indie writer. Once you've read your fill, or, if you're more like me (sure that I won't ever get my fill), and you feel more confident about jumping in, take a look at Smashwords. Mark Coker is a genius.
So this is where I started: A name of a author who made her dreams come true, an author who wants Newbies to succeed, and a website that not only shows you how to format your manuscript for e-reading, but will also distribute it to online retailers.
If you like the idea of traditional publishers on the basis of Marketing (read the links above). There seems to be a lot of opinions about marketing, here are two opinions that I had to agree with: rethinking book marketing, by Mark Coker, and of course the blog by Joe Konrath that I mentioned earlier.
Oh, and one more thing an article I read last February on the rise of eReading devices, talked about how many people own an eReading device. It said that it had surpassed 7 million. I suspect its much higher now... and especially after this Christmas.
Good Luck!
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