Dismantle My Bed

If you are self-publishing the you probably already know of the importance of getting reviews. And those reviews on Amazon are equally as important. Apparently the big publishing companies know this too. In fact, Thomas Nelson is doing something that self-publishers can do too. Put a call out on the web for book reviewers. And stipulate that they have to post a lengthy review on Amazon. You can read more about what they are doing at Tattered Essence. Frankly, I am surprised that they are not requiring reviews to be positive.

If you are thinking about self-publishing it is a good idea to get all the info that you can. There are a lot of different groups and message boards that you will want to check out on the subject. One of the newsletters that I get regularly on self publishing is the Publishing Basics Newsletter that you can sign up for at SelfPublishing.com. You will notice that some great people write for this newsletter. You might recognize Fern Reiss. She writes some great books for self publishing authors in a series called ‘The Publishing Game.’ This series is a ‘must have’ for anyone that is thinking about self publishing as well.

I have never used Lightning Source. I really wish I had though. Instead, I went all in.

Started a publishing company.

Did offset printing with Central Plains. Ordered 3,000 books. Found out later that they can run an overage print of a certain percentage and you have to pay for them. So, ended up with 3,300 books.

About $8,000 - $10,000 later and maybe 300 of those 3,300 have been sold/given away.

Lightning Source would have only had me out a few hundred bucks.

Ah, live and learn.

Writing is easy. All you do is stare at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead.

-Gene Fowler

While this quote has now become a widely utilized quote on pages for writing contests and the like, and it is very much in my nature to rebel against all things popular, I still love this writing quote more than any other.

This quote gives a great visual of, what I see as, the most organic basis of writing. There is no brainstorming plots, rewriting, editing. It embodies what writing really is, creating something out of absolutely nothing.

There is blankness, and then, through the sheer power of you, an overactive imaginative, and dedicated brain power, it turns into something.

As I’ve alluded to before, somtimes I think it really is enough to make a brain bleed.

Are you thinking of publishing your own books? If so, there is something that you will hear that you will likely not believe. You will hear people say that bookstores are the worst place to sell books. You will scoff. Later you will learn that it is true. When you are working on your marketing plan be sure to take notice of the types of places that you see books other than bookstores when you are out.