You guys I have always been an avid reader, but in the past month I have read a lot of new author's books. In the last year I also published my own book and helped edit and published for someone else. Reading has prompted me to give some tips for new authors. I think that it's important that we always put our best foot forward when presenting anything to the world and we should make sure it's our best quality. I had to learn these things for myself as well, so don't take it as I'm bashing. Far from it, I want new writers to take this and help to make great books, because I know you can. Just take a little work and a lot of time.
1) when writing, there are many stages. You never write it all one time and that's it. You write a free hand (whatever comes to your mind. it can be like random jots), then your first draft (make it sense lol), 2nd draft, and even a 3rd or 4th.
2) Have someone else edit and proofread. Maybe even a couple people. Sometimes other people can see things that you may have missed.
3) On that note, make sure that whoever is editing/proofreading is good in English and grammar.... (I won't go too deep into that. It's self explanatory)
4) Be willing to take some feedback and advice. Nobody knows everything. That's the point. There is nothing wrong with having a little help to bounce ideas around.
5) Spell check is your BEST FRIEND. Please use it! If we want to present our best product, we have to make sure that we don't have a surplus of miss spelled words and grammatical errors. I can understand maybe one or two at most, but more than that I'm putting the book down.
I'll come back with more tips. Be sure to keep reading. Post if you have any as well.
Alright, here with another tip. I had to learn this the hard way, but once you create your book, before publishing, I would have a group of readers read the book first and give reviews and a final edit glance over. Now, if you have done your book on Amazon, you can always go back and edit after you find mistakes, but that's harder if you aren't. Plus, we always want to put our best foot forward, so don't be in a rush. Greatness takes time and preparation. I've been blessed to meet people who still saw potential and gave me feedback on things that needed to be improved (thanks by the way). Going forward, on any new projects, I'll be sure to do this before publishing.
More tips coming soon. Stay tuned and post if you have any as well.
Hello everyone!
I'm back with another tip. So today's tip is: presentation matters.
Always make sure that your book looks appealing to readers. Make sure that your cover is relevant to what your story is about. And now, there are lot's of websites where photographers have free photos that you can use (just please give them credit and if you can, a donation). Here is a website I found with free pictures and you can search for a specific type Free stock photos · Pexels . There are also others. Google royalty free photos. (If anyone knows any other website feel free to comment).
The next part to making a good first impression is your book description or information on the back of the book. It's not always necessary to just copy and paste information from the first page of the book. Sometimes you may want to find a clip from a climactic part of the book. You want to find something that would make readers say "wow, I want to know what happens next". You could honestly have an amazing story, but if its not packaged right, people may not read it.
Alright everyone. Happy reading!
#Great Minds Love to Read
Hello everyone!
I know It's been a while since I brought a tip. I've been doing a lot more reading. The previous tip about presentation is still a very common issue that I'm seeing. If I were to give another, it would be to promote, promote, promote!
If you are a self-published writer, promoting is going to be the biggest thing you will have to do. There are lots of ways you can promote. Join different facebook groups, twitter, instagram, Goodreads, and blogs (like this one). Getting your book in front of people to read will require a lot of leg work. Set a schedule to make posts on social media. There are many places that you can pay to do this for you. Twitter has promotional people who will do the tweets and so does Reedsy. These services can start from $25 and up. If you aren't good with social media, then it may be beneficial to pay someone to promote for you, but if you have a good following, and know how to join and make posts, then you should be able to do it yourself.
Once again, if you are asking people to read your book and you receive negative feedback, don't get upset if they don't give you the rating that you want. It's honest feedback. Don't try to defend your writing. Depending on what they tell you, try to reflect and see if anything could help you to make your book better.
Alright everyone. Until next time, Happy reading!
#Great Minds Love to Read
Yea. Different personalities can be tough! I haven't had that problem. I think you have to trust the person helping with edits that they have your best interest. Also being willing to take constructive criticism. Glad you decided to trust your editor! lol
Very true! The editing process was the hardest 'clash of ego's', I cut out 20,000 words then the editor came along and slashed more - in hindsight, the editor was correct, but it was hard going!